Read on for my segment-by-segment thoughts on Raw.
Pretty awesome opening videos.
Good seeing all (well, almost all) of DX together again. Fun segment. Sandow's still pretty new, so I don't think it "buried" him to go out like that unless the follow-up is bad.
I liked the opening contest. Six talented guys.
Kind of a flat segment with AJ. We get it, Mae Young gave birth to a hand and it was horrible.
I wish I could have that time back from watching Foley, Clay, and Swagger's segment.
Fine flashback with DX and Stratus.
Kind of a crazy wedding segment (when are they not?). I like AJ as GM, but I wish something more was happening between AJ and Bryan. Then again, this keeps Bryan heel.
I liked Punk/Bryan/Rock.
Miz finally getting back in doing something important works for me. Good match.
Brock/HHH/Heyman/Stephanie was pretty awesome. Hell of a show tonight.
Fun stuff with Slater and the cameos. It's almost a shame that the angle has to end.
Good segment leading to Rock and Cena.
The stuff with Taker and Kane was fine for getting them on the show, but they're not doing a lot for the "regulars" at this point (as opposed to the part-timers and guests).
This Charlie Sheen stuff is just kind of "meh".
Pretty good match to end the show. They did the right thing keeping the title on Punk.
NICE ending angle to continue big things going forward. I look forward to the follow-up.
I'll be back for Superstars and Impact on Friday. A news post will be up later today.
I honestly thought that whole wedding storyline was a bit of a joke. Honestly, it seems like a marketing ploy more than a storyline push in a good direction. I mean honestly, did anyone think Bryan and AJ would get married? If so, what good could come from it?
ReplyDeleteLet me put it like this: Bryan was using AJ and sucking up to her to get on her good side for the title match with Punk, which helped solidify his heel tendencies. However, why would a heel like Bryan just now show compassion when he ridiculed her and has nothing to gain from her in this character?
I also liked the Slater segments of late and it's a shame it will end. Though Slater has been a bit of a laughing stock, he's had more air time (mic and in the ring) than virtually anyone except for AJ and even more than the two World champs. Where do you see him going from here?
I'm a little baffled at AJ being named the GM. We talked about how it's been building and acculminating, so it seemed axiomatic that it would be a prestigious figure, but AJ? I like what she brings to the table, but she was just on NXT, the bottom of the barrel in this company, not three months ago. Now, magically, she's the GM and has received more airtime than anyone on top of one of the biggest pushes in diva history? I know you're a fan of hers, but you have to admit it's a bit unprecidented.
By the way, I didn't mention this before, but how did you feel about Andy Leavine's release? I was a big fan of his and I remember the fans were really behind him. What was the justification behind that release? I know Luke, who finished behind him and also a couple others are still signed to FCW, so it was a little shocking in that he was the winner, but was released. Any shot he will be back in the future?
By the way, I was a little perplexed to see Young mention his attraction to this song. Your thoughts?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGDF_QcsKVI
It probably was something they thought up to make Raw 1000 even bigger. Some of the draw of a wrestling wedding is to see what will happen during it (since it usually isn't someone actually getting married). Would she catch on to him just paying her on, etc..
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you recognize that at least Slater's getting ring and mic time, since at first I was against him being flattened by legends. I see him as something of a heel Santino going forward, talking a big game but losing. They've got momentum with the character. Or, he could refocus or something and not settle for losing to legends.
Someone backstage obviously likes AJ given how much air time she gets. It could be an interesting way to move stories along. It seems like the crowd eats up everything she's in, so it kind of makes sense in that way. After Laurinaitis' shows didn't do so well ratings-wise, they could use someone the fans are interested in seeing every week. She's unpredictable and unstable.
I thought they were off the mark with Andy. I didn't really see him having charisma. I think it's kind of telling that he didn't cut it in FCW. I don't think Luke got signed to FCW. Some of the Divas did, but not him. There's always a shot someone comes back, but I think he'd need some more experience before they rehired him.
Young could have just been goofing around, or he has a musical guilty pleasure. It doesn't make me think any less of him as a wrestler.
I thought Andy really came on during the end of Tough Enough. He showed charisma and that "fire" that I really put a lot of stock into, which (I'm assuming) is a big reason Stone Cold picked him ahead of the others. He had a long way to go, but I liked him throughout most of it, so I'm a bit sad to see him released. To his defense, that season of Tough Enough really didn't have too many contestants who really fit that "star" mold very well. Did you notice that, too?
ReplyDeleteWell keep in mind, though, that she wasn't unpredictable until they made her character that way, and that any other diva could have fit that mold, and certainly a diva who has had more experience at the "main roster" level, though. I like her for the most part, but it was a little confusing.
With AJ, it's just kind of odd to me how they gave her such a MOMUMENTAL push out of nowhere. She was on NXT being booked on the losing end to many different divas, so it's VERY odd to me how someone who lacks some of the qualities a Layla or Beth has to receive such a huge push. It's kind of begs the question as to why her and not any other diva?
I don't remember seeing much of any charisma out of Andy (I might have said something different at the time). To me, he was just an angry big guy.
ReplyDeleteThey weren't looking to find the next WWE star as much as putting together a reality show dynamic. Austin Aries didn't make the cut for the show, and he's the current (critically acclaimed) TNA Champion.
I don't know if just any Diva could pull off the same level that AJ's pulling off. She had quite a bit of training in FCW doing promos before and after Season 3 of NXT.
I hate to keep harping on this, but WWE does not care about wins, losses, and wrestling talent as much as some fans. They're about using characters they think can make them the best stories and most money. They like AJ in her role, and they're not going to let her won-loss record get in the way of that. If more fans tuned in for the sports aspect of wrestling than weddings and storylines, maybe they'd be different.
If bookers and wrestlers do their jobs right, a loss can mean more than a win. Ask Tommy Dreamer, who lost all the time but was still very relevant.
During the tail end of the season, he really showed that fire once Stone Cold lit a fire under him. During the finale on Raw, he really took to heart when Austin said, which I think helped him edge out Luke. I liked what I saw of him, overall.
ReplyDeleteI would say they were also looking for the next star of the company to come out. I wouldn't necessarily say it was mainly about making a reality show dynamic. There would have really been no point of the show in that case and the fan suspense of who would win and it being linked to the WWE really made it about that. At least that's how it seemed.
AJ probably underwent good promo training, but many of the other divas on NXT or the main rosters have been around even longer, though. I think many could have pulled it off. I would have liked to see maybe Beth go in that direction, since she's been SO bland. She has that look and tweak to her persona.
Maybe a better way to put to describe the confusion of AJ's monumental push it is the way she was being booked. Though wins/losses don't tell the whole story, very few people knew much about her before her push. She had really not too many "meaningful" segments that really stick out on NXT, looking aside from her wins and losses.
Bottom line, in my opinion, is though it is very odd as to why it was her who was pushed, and though I still don't think she should be the GM, she's pulling it off fairly well.
This is one of the other videos Young got that Usos mock dance from lol. What are your thoughts on this?
ReplyDeleteYou may like this better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_6BdEh4hQs
Fire to me is only part of what's important to be good in WWE. To be a top guy you need it, but charisma gets your foot in the door.
ReplyDeleteWhoever casted the show was looking at it from a reality show perspective. WWE didn't make the choices of who got on the show. They already had NXT for the "next breakout star". Tough Enough needed to be different. That's why we ended up with Ariane/Cameron instead of a whole class of people with wrestling experience.
I think to some degree AJ works because she was something of an unknown. The fans expect certain things from Layla and Beth at this stage. AJ didn't have years of "canon" to live up to. I'm kind of playing devil's advocate here, since I get what you're saying. Raw/Smackdown writers probably figure no one watched or cared about NXT since it was online-only, and did whatever they wanted with AJ.
I'm not as much of a music aficionado as I am with wrestling. I'm into Devo and Depeche Mode, that kind of sound.
Eh, that's kind of my point with Andy, though. He really came on and showed that charisma when it mattered most. I don't think Austin would have chosen him over Luke, who showed charisma, if Andy didn't have that charisma and fire, though. I think fire and charisma are heavily correlated.
ReplyDeleteI, personally, still see Tough Enough's ends/means being the acculmination of a winner being crowned. When it's all said and done, no one cares about the ratings or reality show, they care about who wins and what happens after with that person. Most can't even name half of the contestants, I bet lol.
One of my points with making Beth, for example, the one who went unstable is that WWE makes so many odd and crazy decisions that it makes sense. Plus, her loss of her title and repeated losses to Layla definitely help her fit the bill as someone as instable. I agree AJ is doing well in her role, but it was a big gamble in terms if high risk/high reward, because her personality is more laid back and she was at the bottom level of the WWE at that point, though.
I know Young got that inspiration from his dance from that 2006 song "It's Going Down" by Yung Joc. Being that you mentioned we're around the same age, I'm surprised you don't remember it with it being around those high school years and with that song being top three in the country lol. Did you check it out before?
I respect the judges' decision and see why they picked him, but really found him lacking in intangibles. Luke reminded me a bit of Miz to Andy's Daniel Puder. Sure Andy was tough and had fire, but he wouldn't last long-term without better character and promo skills (which are hard to teach). The fact that he went nowhere (even by FCW standards) after winning really shows me he was missing something. It looks bad on the judges that he didn't succeed after that level of endorsement.
ReplyDeleteThe TV execs who approved the show care about the ratings and it not being a traditional wrestling show like Superstars or NXT. That's who WWE needs to please to keep the show on the air (unless it did high enough ratings to justify keeping it around against their wishes).
To continue playing devil's advocate, they could say that Beth is used to losing title matches and they already did the Divas of Doom angle with her, so maybe it was time for someone new. It doesn't really matter to me where anyone was before an angle if they do their job well enough when given such a big chance. I trust WWE to some degree to know what talents are capable of before putting them in big angles. Of course, sometimes they fail but that's almost inevitable when you have that much TV to write every week.
I went to kind of a country high school (which is not what my personality is, but it affected what I was exposed to there) and listened to rock, so it must have passed me by. I just checked it out. It's not bad. I just have really eclectic tastes in music. Pandora is always confused with me!