Tonight on Raw, C.M. Punk is forced to defend the WWE Championship against Mark Henry once again. Only this time, there will be no DQs and no count-outs. Will the Straight Edge Savior make it to Extreme Rules in one piece? Also, John Cena responds to last week's attack by Brock Lesnar. Read on for my thoughts on the show as it happens.
Before I get started, I have to say: I have missed wrestling SO much these past few weeks. Maybe even Big Show.
Starting off with the WWE Title match is a little disappointing. Did Stone Cold ever work opening match as Champ?
Recap packages are actually useful for once since it's been a bit since I've watched the show.
This match could headline a PPV if WWE booked smartly enough. That is, if they didn't have Lesnar to sell shows.
Great crowd so far.
Solid contrast between the big bruiser and speedy technician.
Awesome camera work with Punk running the barricade. That move was ironically a bit Jeff Hardy-esque.
Good stuff so far, though practically any match would be good after going almost 2 weeks without seeing any.
The commentary's actually good here for once, since they're focusing on the match and competitors.
I'm only ok with the constant use of "Yes" by the crowd if it means WWE keeps using Bryan well.
Good ring work by Punk. That's what experience gets you.
These two play off of each other really well.
Nice spots here. They're painting a pretty good picture.
The right guy won. Punk should be one of THE guys in the company and Henry's a lot easier to keep at a high level.
You'd think Laurinaitis would give Jericho anything he wanted given the problems Laurinaitis has had with Punk.
Punk's gotten convincing wins over Jericho and Henry, whichmakes him more credible.
He could have just been visiting someone at the pub... he didn't stumble out of there or anything.
Kind of weird putting on a U.S. Title match in the UK.
Brock being controversial will be fun. He doesn't mince words.
Not really sure why we needed that R-Truth/Long segment. Or if we needed it for that matter.
That was an interesting entrance for Santino.
I wonder if WWE sells versions of what Otunga wears to the ring.
I hope Punk's family's involved in the Extreme Rules match. I'm thinking something a little like the Little Jimmy with the water bottle in Cena vs. R-Truth.
And commentary goes right back to bad.
Someone finally countered the split. Cool.
I thought we were in for a new champ there. Maybe at Extreme Rules?
Sideshow/comedy match, but it got over so I guess that makes it ok?
Tensai reminds me of Shredder for some reason. Weird segment. I'm a little split on his character.
Lesnar's something, alright.
Good package to introduce Lesnar to those who aren't familiar with some of his accolades.
That's pretty much a shoot from Lesnar about his feelings on the fans.
My body is ready for Lesnar vs. Cena.
Ryder's character probably SHOULDN'T be so upbeat going into a match with Kane. I guess he was soaking up the UK crowd reaction.
For once I actually gain from seeing the replays.
Orton saving Ryder would be kind of out-of-character, but I don't know if Ryder getting mopped up does much.
Maybe they're building to Sheamus vs. Kane after the feud with Orton?
Nothing pretty about that one, but it didn't need to be.
I missed AJ in particular...
I officially love the YES thing again after the move re-naming.
3 hours of Raw to catch up on for 4/23 is a blessing and a curse.
Maybe Cena SHOULDN'T smile so much when he's in a blood feud. Then again, the pro-Lesnar crowd wants him to destroy to the goofy Cena, not the Cena who dissed Rock.
Laurinaitis is more powerful than HHH or the Board of Directors?
I think Rock's return was more anticipated than Brock's. He was gone longer and had done more before leaving.
I like Cena's putting over of Lesnar.
I also like that this angle is more than someone winning a title or being the better man. I like storylines with some more kick to them.
After that big of a promo, Laurinaitis' music is a let-down.
Half of me wonders if WWE had scripted an opponent for Cena by that point.
Where did Jericho get that cell phone footage?
I wonder what Jericho does after feuding with Punk...
Is this R-Truth stuff leading anywhere or is WWE just amusing themselves?
As long as Bryan's heel character doesn't embrace the fans saying "Yes", I'm good with them continuing to use it.
Good match so far.
Part of me wants Bryan to snap at the fans for "mocking him" with the "Yes" chants.
I cracked up at the "No" chants, though I like Kofi and wish the fans were behind him as well.
Cole should jump on the "Yes" bandwagon.
Good match. I liked the side-story with AJ.
I love Bryan as the weasel who keeps escaping. I hope Bryan doesn't go down in 36 seconds in 2 straight falls at the PPV (unless that gets him further over somehow).
Why do I get this weird feeling that one day we'll get Brodus vs. Tensai?
At least Brodus' ridiculous act is over.
Ziggler's a former World Champion who was in the WWE Title picture earlier in the year. Now he's... doing this.
Weird to push the heel Ziggler's YouTube show.
Ziggler's a bump machine.
Cameron and Naomi vs. Vickie and her daughter would be interesting.
This show is weird...
Impressive flexibility from the dancers.
I'm intrigued with what they could be going for with Eve and Laurinaitis.
Hopefully that footage dissuades those who thought the chop originated with Flair.
Glad the crowd was respectful there.
I even missed seeing Khali wrestle I think.
His partner, not so much.
Nothing against Primo and Epico, but the Tag Team Titles have fallen a long way from the days of the first TLC.
I hope this match isn't just filler.
I wonder why AW doesn't have a first and last name anymore (unless they realize how goofy his name is).
Seriously, I hope there was a reason for all of that.
I half-hoped Khali would turn on him.
Kane's already competed tonight, so I'm at kind of a loss for who the opponent is unless either he or Henry are working double duty. Otunga's worked, too.
He's been back less than a month and now he's headlining Raw against John Cena. It's like we've skipped a number of chapters here.
At least they acknowledge that Tensai's been in WWE before.
I like that Tensai can move pretty well for a big man.
I wonder when we'll see Sakomoto compete.
Impressive work by Cena's attackers. The gimmick's just weird by 2012 standards.
I guess Tensai's the 2012 Umaga or Khali (when Khali was a threat).
If Tensai taps, all that hype goes out the window and he becomes just another superstar.
What's the mist supposed to be anyway? I wish they'd explain more about it.
Cena on a losing streak after being dominated? Who'd have seen that coming?
That's all for the 4/16 Raw. The 4/16 news post is up next. I'll get to the 4/18 NXT when I'm able. Thanks for reading!
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