WWE Raw Supershow - June 4, 2012
Opening Segment - I thought last night's opening was very solid all in all. I honestly don't know sometimes if people think that Cole just sucks or they're really just pissed because he's in Jim Ross' spot, but I think Cole is great to listen to when he's in heel mode. I thought Cole did a great job of putting over Big Show while slamming Cena, the fact that Cole obviously played to internet fans with some of his insults to Cena gave it a little extra kick. Cole didn't try to lay it on too thick, which I admit is something he's done in the past, but he was toned down just enough here in my view. Cena's response was solid, though part of me still agrees with Big Show's pespective. After all, in real life, you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes to get by in the world. Initially, I wasn't crazy about the idea of Cena and Cole having a match. We've seen Cole get beaten up a lot and I was disappointed with this in the beginning. As the night went on, however, with Cole consistently pleading to be let out of this match, I got intrigued at the notion that there was going to be something more to this. Thumbs Up
1. Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler - This was a rematch betwen the two from SmackDown! this past Friday. While not as good as that match, it was still a good strong match from both guys. I find myself wondering why WWE doesn't pull the trigger on Dolph Ziggler as he demonstrates excellence inside the ring time and time again. It was a strong back and forth match with Ziggler giving as good as he got. There were a couple of good near falls from Ziggler and, as always, he sold Sheamus' offense like a champ. The ending kind of disappointed me because I was hoping for another botched attempt at interference from Swagger, or at least Vickie this time. Ziggler blaming Swagger's botched interference for him losing this past Friday was the reason for this match, so having something similar happen here would've only made Ziggler look even stronger and further the idea that he's ready to split from Vickie. Sheamus winds up hitting White Noise before landing the Brogue Kick for the clean win at the 10 minute mark. ***
Big Johnny Backstage - Normally I wouldn't mention this segment as it was just a very brief piece backstage. However, Otunga informs Big Johnny that Vince McMahon will be returning next week on Raw, which would soon be announced as a three hour show, and would be performing a "job evaluation" on Big Johnny. I'm sure some will complain about this since Triple H is supposed to be the one that's overseeing Big Johnny's position as GM of Raw & SD!. A simple explanation is that Vince is taking over those duties, temporarily, while Triple H is rehabing his "broken arm". Besides, Vince is still CEO of WWE people. That pretty much gives him jurisdiction over any damn thing he wants. Not really anything here to rate as positive or negative, but it's noteworthy as it'll be the first time we've seen Vince on WWE television this year I think. N/A
2. Sin Cara vs. Hunico - Pretty decent match for what it was, which was an outing to reintroduce Sin Cara to the Raw audience. To me, it seems that Sin Cara has been much smoother these past couple of times than he was when was last saw him. I know this was only the second match he's had on WWE television, the first being against Heath Slater this past Friday on SD!, but he seems much crisper and more comfortable in there now. No botches or anything. He looked good here and the live crowd gave his unconventional offense a good solid response and popped as they were supposed to. I wish they'd lose the friggin' mood lighting, however. As I was watching it, however, I was wondering if maybe that light is something that helps Sin Cara see easier through his mask? Sin Cara gets the win about the 3 minute mark after hitting the hurricanrana/face plant type move. *3/4
Raw's Most Memorable Moments Videos - Last night, WWE showed a couple of video packages, the first being John Cena's personal favorite moment & the second being Triple H's. Cena's was the night he was first drafted to Raw during his first run as WWE Champion. Triple H's, I personally remember like it was yesterday, was the one where he came back at a sold out MSG back in 2002 after being out 9 months due to a tearing his quad. Both vids were great and the added commentary of both guys added an element of real personal experience for them. Thumbs Up
3. Ryback vs. Arthur Rosenberg & Stan Stansky - This was Ryback's first squash match on Raw. Like everyone else, I think it's time to start moving Ryback onto actual feuds & opponents. However, this was his first outing in front of a live Raw crowd and it was good to see that he got a strong response. Even though Ryback weighs almost as much as his opponents put together, it's still impressive watching two grown men get tossed around like ragdolls, even in this day and age. Fans were impressed with Ryback's strength and his intensity, which I have to been as well. Ryback finished them off with the double Muscle Buster/Fall Away Slam thing he does. You could hear a few faint Goldberg chants, but they were mostly drowned out by the crowd. N/A
4. CM Punk vs. Kane - Prior to this match, Daniel Bryan comes out and cuts a brief promo. Bryan continues to get a great response from the crowd and does his "Yes!" thing before the match starts. As for the match itself, more great stuff. I thought this match was better than the one they had on SD!. Kane really excels when they put him in matches against guys like Punk or Bryan, especially when they keep Kane looking strong in what's a strong back & forth match. The fact that they didn't book this match with Kane just tossing Punk around with Punk being unable to do much against him in terms of putting him down was great, making it look like an even, hard fought match works when you consider that's how Kane has been booked since his return. The match also had a couple of great, very believable near falls, such as when Punk landed the neckbreaker and the Macho Man elbow later in the match. Eventually, Bryan does interfere and lands a couple of kicks to Punk on the outside before Punk manages to crawl back inside. AJ comes running down in a Punk t-shirt and pair of Daisy Dukes, woo-hoo, and jumps up on the apron. While this is going on, Kane goes for a chokeslam but eats a roundhouse kick before Punk dives onto the outside onto Daniel Bryan. He beats on Bryan for a bit before climbing back into the ring. Kane catches him by surprise and delivers a chokeslam for the win about the 14 minute mark. AJ's reaction to Kane post match was very intriguing. She is so good in the role she's in right now that it's not even funny. It was a great tease that makes you wonder if AJ has something going on with Kane, might be interested in getting with Kane, did it in the hopes of "saving" herself from Kane or if she's just a man hungry psycho. Bryan's facial expression sold his perplexion as well. The match also served as great build for the triple threat match at No Way Out and now both Punk's opponents have gained solid wins over him in back to back weeks. ***1/2
AJ Backstage - As AJ was walking backstage, Josh Matthews came up and asked her what was going on. She went into seductive mode for a few minutes, gently tugging on Josh's tie while smiling. She quickly changed and said, "Do you not like aggressive women? I do. You know what, you might just be my type." Flustered, Matthews walks off while AJ's great facial expressions change. I dig what they're doing with her partly because I'm not sure where they're going. AJ seems to have a whole Cybill thing going on, Cybill is the name of a woman that was very famous for having legit multiple personalities just in case you don't know what I mean. She seemlessly goes from a sweet, dainty little girl to a seductress to an aggressive tigress. She seems to be the kind of girl that you'd love to have ride you like a wild mountain goat, but you'd be scared half to death at the same time. Thumbs Up
Big Show Video - This was another sit down interview/video montage set up like what WWE did with Brock Lesnar a while back. Show's delivery was great here and they showed some of Show's most embarassing moments in WWE history, some of the crap he's done, and used it to further drive home that Show has "changed" and that he's no longer worried about holding back. Show wasn't at Raw last night and I like that they're keeping him & Cena apart, they're keeping things fresh between them and aren't wearing things out by having them have lots of confrontations. Thumbs Up
5. Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. Curt Hawkins & Tyler Reks - Pretty good match, much better than I thought it'd be. It wasn't a standard formula like we saw, though Kofi did a piss poor job of selling his "injuries" from the hands of Big Show last week. At the same time, the match had a lot of energy and Hawkins & Reks looked pretty decent. The last couple of minutes were a lot of fun with Kofi's high energy offense and that it looked as though the heels were going to get the win. The match went to about the 4.5 minute mark and ended with Kofi managing to hit TIP on his second attempt and pins Hawkins. **1/4
6. John Cena vs. Tensai - Before the Cena vs. Cole match, Big Johnny comes out on his scooter and tells Cena that his match with Cole will be no DQ, if he can beat "this man", namely Tensai. Cena's match with Tensai was pretty good, nothing overly spectacular and not as good as the match they had several weeks ago, but it was still pretty solid. Cena eventually mounts a comeback and hits the AA at the 9.5 minute mark for the clean win, which means he gets Cole. It looks like Tensai's push is probably officially over with his first loss, even though it was to Cena. **1/4
7. John Cena vs. Michael Cole - I enjoyed this, I really did. Not so much for seeing Cole get beaten up, which was ok, but I just kept wondering if we were going see Show come out and cause Cena to lose to Cole. I would've hated it as we'd have never heard the end of it from Cole, but the tease was great. The live crowd ate it all up with Cena smacking Cole around and pouring some of Jim Ross' BBQ sauce on him. Cena put Cole in a reverse chin-lock and made him appologize to Lawler for harping on his "WM victory", he made him appologize to Jim Ross and went so far as to call JR his "mentor & idol" before saying his BBQ sauce was "slobberknocker good". I have to admit that I was laughing at this point. Soon, Tensai comes into the ring and nails Cena with the chokebomb while Cole is over in the corner drenched in BBQ sauce. Cole crawled on top of Cena and got a close 2 count before Cena kicked out. There was a mixture of elation & relief, both from me and the live crowd, when Cena kicked out. Cole tried to hit Cena with the fire extinguisher next but Cena scoops him up and hit the AA for the win at the 5.5 minute mark. The show goes off with Cena celebrating and using the fire extinguisher again on Cole. I have to rate the match because it was honestly fun and I was kept in suspense in wondering if Cena was gonna lose in the same way he lost to Big Johnny. **1/4
Final Thoughts - Very strong show in my eyes last night. Ultimately, nothing really felt like filler as everything seemed to have a purpose. The opening segment was solid with Cena & Cole having a great dynamic together. The vids featuring Cena & Triple H were well done, as was Show's sit down MMA style interview. Wrestling action on the show was strong last night as well. Sheamus vs. Ziggler, while not as good as last Friday's match, was still very entertaining. The only real cases for filler, to me, could have been the Ryback squash & Sin Cara match. However, again, this was Ryback's first such match on Raw & he got a strong response and Sin Cara was reintroduced & looked sharper than we've seen in the past. The tag team match was pretty solid and was a way of getting the champs a boost after Big Show's assault last week. Punk vs. Kane was another great outing, better than the one this past Friday, and WWE has done a great job of making both Bryan & Kane look strong by giving them both good, solid wins over Punk in back to back weeks. AJ continues to be intriguing and the little tease with Kane last night adds another element of wonder to this as we're left to speculate where AJ's loyalties and affections lie. Cena vs. Tensai was pretty solid, not great, but the live crowd was feeling it. Cena's match with Cole was fun and would've been a waste of time without the well worked suspense of wondering if Cena was going to lose via interference to Cole as he did against JL at the last ppv. All in all, a very strong show in my eyes that seemed to fly by.
Grade: A-