Read on for my thoughts on last night's Raw.
I liked the opening segment ok. I wouldn't mind Show taking some time off after Mania or even the Rumble. He could use some refreshing in and out of the ring.
A nice surprise with Barrett getting the win out of nowhere. I wouldn't mind a full-on feud with Orton as long as it elevates Barrett.
Eve vs. Kaitlyn has been a pretty good story so far.
That was certainly interesting with Dr. Shelby. I expected a number of segments with him throughout the night.
Not a fan of Sandow getting in so little offense on Kane. He needs to look like a possible future Tag Team Champion, even in defeat.
I liked the segment with The Shield, Foley, Ryback, Orton, and Sheamus. I think all six will be important in the Rumble match.
Some interesting flashbacks there.
As happy as I am for Kaitlyn, I wanted more from that match. That could have really been a moment for her. But at least it was something.
Nice Brodus promo.
Nice match between Punk and Brodus, squash as it was. Hopefully with some more experience, Brodus would be a solid monster face in the ring. For now, he's fine in these small bursts.
I liked Punk's promo. I'm looking forward to seeing where he goes over Mania season.
Interesting segment with Rock, Foley, and Vickie.
Wait, what!? Slater just beat Sheamus? I would have expected a stronger showing by the Irishman there, leading to a big Mania-season push. Is 3MB a threat now?
Fine enough post-match. It's still weird that Slater won.
Cena was Cena there. I'm ready to get his (speculative) post-Mania title run over with.
I liked MizTV for the most part. I would have liked a cheap shot to Flair from Cesaro to set up Miz defending his honor.
So much for Rhodes Scholars looking like threats to the tag team champions. I hope this is going somewhere.
And there's Eve's exit. Talented gal.
Ziggler, AJ, and Big E made me want to see a big Ziggler win.
CENAWINSLOL. So much for Ziggler, AJ, and Big E being a threat for the top of the card.
I wasn't a fan of the Rock concert. Way too much in the way of sophomoric humor. It's like he doesn't have anything else to add to the equation.
More wrestling coming up.
I was a bit confused with the Barrett/Orton match result and aftermath. Taking nothing away from Barrett, but Orton's been a top guy since like 2005, so it was a bit odd for me to understand how he was booked to lose CLEAN to an Intercontinental guy. Arguably even more perplexing is the very next segment, he comes out and clears the ring of the dominant force known as The Shield. I don't understand it. Any silver lining there?
ReplyDeleteI was also a bit perplexed, as you were, about 3MB winning that match against Sheamus. Though it was 3-on-1, Sheamus still won against all three last week, and has had more wins than anyone on the roster, while Slater had the third most losses of anyone on the roster. Any justification there? Maybe it's more about Sheamus having to lose once in a while and 3MB to not lose all the time?
I personally liked the segment with Rock and Punk as a whole, overall. If Rock mimicked his feud with Cena and was all just about humor and pranks without much hype about the "competition" and "fire" aspects, I'd be very disappointed. But, he combined humor well with that "fire", as he got into it with Punk at the end of the segment.
I got a bit bored with the Cena/Rock feud because of the lack of competition, but I personally think Rock is showing that "fire" a bit more to hype feud with Punk in less of a one-dimensional manner. What do you think?
My guess is that they want to elevate Barrett some and make him look like a credible threat for the Rumble. I'm for that. At the same time they want to keep Orton mostly established as a top guy.
ReplyDeleteAs for Sheamus/3MB I'm thinking they did it to show that 3MB could very well be a threat in the Rumble if they work together. Not that I think any of them have any chance of winning, but it's beneficial to have allies in a match like that.
As I said, I wasn't a fan. His segments still feel like they're more about getting silly nicknames and jokes over than coming back for the WWE Title. It's like they're afraid to even remotely change his (admittedly very successful) character from over a decade ago, other than changing some catch-phrases and jabs. I respect the hell out of Rock but it feels like it's time for something new.
Yeah, that is a decent explanation in that the WWE wanted to elevate Barrett in giving him the victory over Orton. It also seems that both the U.S. Title and Intercontinental Title have been a bit more reveared and have gained a lot of credibility since Summerslam.
ReplyDeleteWhen Santino was champion in August and a bit before that, both of those titles and the holders of those titles were really inconsistent in terms of credibility. I remember Santino was barely on tv when he beat Swagger for the U.S. Title. Now, Cesaro is on tv twice a week in matches AND in promos.
I can understand it from a credibility standpoint for Barrett and the title, it's just odd to me how one of the top guys in the WWE in Orton can 1) Lose to a I.C. Title guy, 2) Lose Clean, and 3) Come back the next segment after that tough elbow and stand tall. Just odd to me, man.
I guess you and I are on opposite sides of the fence with The Rock and how he's going about this Punk feud. I agree with you in the sense that he was a bit too sophomoric in his Cena feud, and it DID seem like he didn't have an actual "beef" or legitimate storyline with Cena. It just seemed like he was there to face and beat the top guy, regardless.
I think this Punk feud is more balanced, however. Do you at least admit a bit that he's showing more aggression and making it more about "competition" and hunger for the title than his feud with Cena? Yes, the humor is fairly burgeoning, but he has done a good job with mixing that humor with aggression. Since he's doing that, I don't have much issue with how he's going about the feud as much as before, with it being sports entertainment and him doing well in entertaining the crowd. What do you think?
I'm glad that they're rebuilding the midcard titles. They should be valuable stepping stones in someone's career.
ReplyDeleteWWE does odd things. I just try my best to explain what they might have been thinking. You have a valid point.
Rock is definitely motivated to kick Punk's ass. I just feel that that gets drowned out by doing concerts and catch phrases. I have a similar problem with Cena. But you're right that it's sports-entertainment and he's entertaining the fans. It's just not really my cup of tea in 2013.