Johnny Scumm
InZayn In The Membrane
Well, this Raw was good! I tell you that. What with it being the Draft, we saw a LOT happen in 2 Hours. So, it's not in my Usual "Raw Review" Thread, but that's because this was a Special Show. Normal Thread will resume next week. I also want to "Rate" each Draft, in my opinion. But I will be rating Matches and everything else not on my opinion, but it's effectiveness on both the Crowd and/or storylines. So let's kick it off!
Raw vs Smackdown Battle Royal - Winner Received ONE Draft Pick
On Twitter, before the Show, this Match was announced as being 2 Draft Picks for the Winner, but that must've been changed. We start Raw with the Match already having begun. Kane, Khali and Jackson are all eliminated early, followed by Masters, Slater and Wade Barrett. DiBiase is next and Brodus Clay and Mark Henry eliminate each other. After an Ad Break, Big Show makes Santino hit himself with the Cobra and then Cody Rhodes and Daniel Bryan are gone too. Mason Ryan & Evan Bourne are left for Raw, with Big Show & Kofi for SD. Bourne goes for a dive on Show, but he catches him and throws him to the Floor. He eventually takes out Mason Ryan, winning the 1st Draft Pick for Smackdown. We're expecting something good, but no-one was expecting someone as good as.... JOHN CENA!
Cena is the first man to be drafted in the 2011 Draft, to the Blue Brand, Smackdown. He comes out and celebrates and then tells the Camera he's going to Friday's.
Match Rating: 4/5 - There were some good moments here, such as Show throwing Bourne and Smackdown winning a pick, which is very rare as well. Good match to start the show.
R-Truth Promo
R-Truth comes out and the crowd cheers him until he tells them to shut up. He tries to talk and the crowd starts a "What" chant and Truth tells them they better stop because he is getting pissed off. He says its all the fans fault that Morrison made a challenge and Truth accepted and lost. He says he tried to please the fans and it didn't get him any titles, so he is giving all the fans the boot. He says they should boo themselves and when he let ten years of anger and frustration it felt good. He says the truth has set him free, and then he gets blindsided by John Morrison. Refs rush out after Morrison to stop him but he breaks free and punches away at him as Truth tries to get away.
Promo Rating: 4/5 - Gotta say, I thought that R-Truth was GOLD on the Mic. He came over so differently as a Heel, it just seemed quite fresh. I liked it.
Eve vs Layla - Winner Received ONE Draft Pick
Short match, due to Michael Cole's interruption. McCool makes some distraction to take Layla's Eye off the Match and Eve steals the win. Cole then blabs on a bit, before we get to see who Raws First Draft Pick is. However, Layla beats up Michelle McCool first. Back to the Tron, the Draft "Wheel" of Superstars runs through some men until finally, we see Raws latest acquisition is REY MYSTERIO! The high-flying Mexican has moved to Raw.
Match Rating: 0.5/5 - Obviously had to have a Diva's Match in the show for a Pick, but to do it like this, with Cole interrupting YET AGAIN does take the piss actually.
Kofi Kingston vs Sheamus - Winner Received ONE Draft Pick
Pretty damn good match here again. We seem to be seeing a pattern. Except for the Diva's Match, every other one is pretty good. A lot of back and forth action here from the start. Sheamus eventually sets Kofi up for "Pale Justice", but he manages to slide out of it. Sheamus then goes to hit the "Brogue Kick", but again, Kofi dodges. He hits the Trouble In Paradise, winning the Match for Smackdown, who receive another Pick.
We go to the Tron and another surprise! Smackdown's newest superstar is.... RANDY ORTON! The Viper has come to Friday Nights.
Match Rating: 3.5/5 - Great to see Smackdown win, making them look superior, instead of falling very behind as they usually do.
Michael Cole vs Jim Ross
Cole stomps around the ring making fun of JR then goes back to his corner to talk to Swagger. JR tries to swing at Cole but he leaves the ring and takes JR's hat and steps on it. Cole once again goes to the corner to get toweled off, then Cole does pushups to continue to stall. JR finally gets hold off Cole and throws him to the crowd but Cole tries calling time out. Swagger gives him a stool to sit on and gets him water and a spit bucket, and Cole charges out of the corner and tries to bodyslam JR. He gets him off the ground but JR falls on him and starts pounding away until Cole narrowly escapes.
King sees this and grabs Cole and throws him back in the ring, and JR continues to pound on Cole as Swagger throws King into the barricade. Swagger gets in the ring and knocks down JR and puts him in the Ankle Lock while Cole screams about JR busting his lip open. Cole takes JR's belt and beats him with it while Swagger keeps him in the Ankle Lock until King makes the save. King picks up the belt and starts beating Cole with it until he gets away and Cole and Swagger run away. A GM email is sent in and it says King and JR's match against Swagger and Cole will be an "Extreme Whipping Match"
Match Rating: 1/5 - It only got a one because JR busted up Cole pretty bad. The worst part of the night, that's for sure. There's something about Cole's matches that are a THOUSAND times worse than the buildup.
Randy Orton vs Dolph Ziggler - Winner Received TWO Draft Picks
Remember now, Orton is fighting on behalf of Smackdown, having been drafted no less than 30 Minutes before. Match gets off to a good start, with Orton knocking Dolph to the outside. Vickie goes to check on him, which eventually allows Ziggler to dropkick Orton over the GuardRail. Dolph makes it into the Ring and the Ref is counting. Orton slides back in and gets a near fall on Ziggler. Orton wants the RKO, but Vickie distracts him, leading to Ziggler getting the Roll-Up. However, Orton kicks out and then hits the RKO and earns Smackdown another 2 Picks. As they go to announce them, CM Punk comes out to cut a Promo on how, at Extreme Rules, he will be the "Last Man Standing". There's a break and when we come back, we find out that MARK HENRY and SIN CARA have been drafted to Smackdown. Interesting.
Match Rating: 3.5/5 - Pretty enjoyable Match, followed by a great Punk promo. Not the greatest Draft in Henry, although my opinion changed later. Looking forward to seeing Sin Cara on Smackdown though.
Wade Barrett vs Rey Mysterio - Winner Received TWO Draft Picks
Wade pounds on Rey then puts a knee in betweens his shoulders, but Rey fights out and kicks him then hits a cross body. Wade throws him in the corner and puts him up on the top turnbuckle, but Rey shoves him off and sets him up for a 619. Rey goes back up top and lands a corner splash and makes the cover.
We get shown the first pick is BIG SHOW and he comes out to celebrate with the Crowd. The Draft then continues and the second draftee to Raw is... ALBERTO DEL RIO! He's backstage however, arguing with Ricardo Rodriguez, his Ring Announcer as we hit a Break again.
Match Rating: 3/5 - Not a terrible Match, but it was followed up by Two GREAT Picks, especially in ADR. Can't wait to see what he's got in store here.
CM Punk, Alberto Del Rio & The Miz (Raw) vs John Cena, Christian & Mark Henry - The Winning Team Received The FINAL Draft Pick
Teddy Long comes out to announce this Match and the 6 Men make their entrances in T-Shirt's of their Brands respective Colour. Christian hip tosses Miz then tags in Cena, and Miz ducks outside as we go to a commercial. When we return, Cena hits a suplex on Miz and a dropkick on Punk, then tags in Mark Henry. He steps on Punk's chest then drags him to the corner and tags in Christian, who hits a diving elbow drop off the middle turnbuckle. Christian gets distracted by Alberto and gets dropped by Punk, who makes the tag to Alberto. He hits a jumping corner kick then tags in Miz, and Miz keeps Christian away from his corner. Christian tries to fight back and make a tag but Miz pulls him down by his head and tags in Punk.
Punk and Miz use quick tags to keep Christian down, then Alberto gets back in and jumps and drops down on Christian's arm. He continues to work on Christian's arm but he reaches the ropes and the ref orders a break. Alberto tries taking Christian up top, but Christian punches him and hits a tornado DDT then finally gets the tag to Cena. Miz tags in and gets clotheslined by Cena, and Cena taunts Punk then turns around and gets taken out by his teammate Mark Henry! Henry knocks out Christian on the floor and Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale on Cena to win the match and the last pick!
The Superstars images on the Tron roll through and eventually, in a shocker, Cena is drafted BACK to Raw! He hits the Ring and attacks Del Rio, Punk & Miz to end the show, celebrating his return to Raw.
Match Rating: 5/5 - I thought it was a GREAT way to end the Show. Brilliant match, little twist with Cena, made it all good.
Overall Raw Rating: 4/5 - Overall a Brilliant show. Loved nearly every minute of it. Great Drafts and we've got the Supplemental Draft today, which is a little something extra to look forward to.
Just quickly, I want to Rate the Drafts in themselves. Some, to me, were better than other, so here we go.
Cena to Smackdown & Back to Raw - 5/5 - Genius idea to me, really annoyed some who wanted him over there, (such as Jenks.)
Mysterio to Raw - 3/5 - A good place for him to be, but fell flat because of Cara ending up on Smackdown
Randy Orton to Smackdown - 4/5 - Looking forward to what's gonna happen with him, WHC soon?
Mark Henry to Smackdown - 1/5 changed to 3/5 - Wasn't bothered at all, but his little Heel Turn got me that bit more interested.
Sin Cara to Smackdown - 3/5 - Such as Rey, fell flat when they weren't on the same Brand. Although I could see Cara vs Gabriel being good.
Big Show to Raw - 2/5 - Nothing really exciting for me here. Although him & Kane may lose the Titles soon because of it.
Alberto Del Rio to Raw - 5/5 - Love it! Can't wait to watch him every Monday, with the WHC in his Hand's.
That's it. One final thing I will say is, because the WWE Champion is on Raw and no matter what, after Extreme Rules, it still will be. IF Del Rio wins at ER, then both the Major Titles will be on Raw, which is why I actually see Christian winning. Let me know what you think though.
J4L.
Raw vs Smackdown Battle Royal - Winner Received ONE Draft Pick
On Twitter, before the Show, this Match was announced as being 2 Draft Picks for the Winner, but that must've been changed. We start Raw with the Match already having begun. Kane, Khali and Jackson are all eliminated early, followed by Masters, Slater and Wade Barrett. DiBiase is next and Brodus Clay and Mark Henry eliminate each other. After an Ad Break, Big Show makes Santino hit himself with the Cobra and then Cody Rhodes and Daniel Bryan are gone too. Mason Ryan & Evan Bourne are left for Raw, with Big Show & Kofi for SD. Bourne goes for a dive on Show, but he catches him and throws him to the Floor. He eventually takes out Mason Ryan, winning the 1st Draft Pick for Smackdown. We're expecting something good, but no-one was expecting someone as good as.... JOHN CENA!
Cena is the first man to be drafted in the 2011 Draft, to the Blue Brand, Smackdown. He comes out and celebrates and then tells the Camera he's going to Friday's.
Match Rating: 4/5 - There were some good moments here, such as Show throwing Bourne and Smackdown winning a pick, which is very rare as well. Good match to start the show.
R-Truth Promo
R-Truth comes out and the crowd cheers him until he tells them to shut up. He tries to talk and the crowd starts a "What" chant and Truth tells them they better stop because he is getting pissed off. He says its all the fans fault that Morrison made a challenge and Truth accepted and lost. He says he tried to please the fans and it didn't get him any titles, so he is giving all the fans the boot. He says they should boo themselves and when he let ten years of anger and frustration it felt good. He says the truth has set him free, and then he gets blindsided by John Morrison. Refs rush out after Morrison to stop him but he breaks free and punches away at him as Truth tries to get away.
Promo Rating: 4/5 - Gotta say, I thought that R-Truth was GOLD on the Mic. He came over so differently as a Heel, it just seemed quite fresh. I liked it.
Eve vs Layla - Winner Received ONE Draft Pick
Short match, due to Michael Cole's interruption. McCool makes some distraction to take Layla's Eye off the Match and Eve steals the win. Cole then blabs on a bit, before we get to see who Raws First Draft Pick is. However, Layla beats up Michelle McCool first. Back to the Tron, the Draft "Wheel" of Superstars runs through some men until finally, we see Raws latest acquisition is REY MYSTERIO! The high-flying Mexican has moved to Raw.
Match Rating: 0.5/5 - Obviously had to have a Diva's Match in the show for a Pick, but to do it like this, with Cole interrupting YET AGAIN does take the piss actually.
Kofi Kingston vs Sheamus - Winner Received ONE Draft Pick
Pretty damn good match here again. We seem to be seeing a pattern. Except for the Diva's Match, every other one is pretty good. A lot of back and forth action here from the start. Sheamus eventually sets Kofi up for "Pale Justice", but he manages to slide out of it. Sheamus then goes to hit the "Brogue Kick", but again, Kofi dodges. He hits the Trouble In Paradise, winning the Match for Smackdown, who receive another Pick.
We go to the Tron and another surprise! Smackdown's newest superstar is.... RANDY ORTON! The Viper has come to Friday Nights.
Match Rating: 3.5/5 - Great to see Smackdown win, making them look superior, instead of falling very behind as they usually do.
Michael Cole vs Jim Ross
Cole stomps around the ring making fun of JR then goes back to his corner to talk to Swagger. JR tries to swing at Cole but he leaves the ring and takes JR's hat and steps on it. Cole once again goes to the corner to get toweled off, then Cole does pushups to continue to stall. JR finally gets hold off Cole and throws him to the crowd but Cole tries calling time out. Swagger gives him a stool to sit on and gets him water and a spit bucket, and Cole charges out of the corner and tries to bodyslam JR. He gets him off the ground but JR falls on him and starts pounding away until Cole narrowly escapes.
King sees this and grabs Cole and throws him back in the ring, and JR continues to pound on Cole as Swagger throws King into the barricade. Swagger gets in the ring and knocks down JR and puts him in the Ankle Lock while Cole screams about JR busting his lip open. Cole takes JR's belt and beats him with it while Swagger keeps him in the Ankle Lock until King makes the save. King picks up the belt and starts beating Cole with it until he gets away and Cole and Swagger run away. A GM email is sent in and it says King and JR's match against Swagger and Cole will be an "Extreme Whipping Match"
Match Rating: 1/5 - It only got a one because JR busted up Cole pretty bad. The worst part of the night, that's for sure. There's something about Cole's matches that are a THOUSAND times worse than the buildup.
Randy Orton vs Dolph Ziggler - Winner Received TWO Draft Picks
Remember now, Orton is fighting on behalf of Smackdown, having been drafted no less than 30 Minutes before. Match gets off to a good start, with Orton knocking Dolph to the outside. Vickie goes to check on him, which eventually allows Ziggler to dropkick Orton over the GuardRail. Dolph makes it into the Ring and the Ref is counting. Orton slides back in and gets a near fall on Ziggler. Orton wants the RKO, but Vickie distracts him, leading to Ziggler getting the Roll-Up. However, Orton kicks out and then hits the RKO and earns Smackdown another 2 Picks. As they go to announce them, CM Punk comes out to cut a Promo on how, at Extreme Rules, he will be the "Last Man Standing". There's a break and when we come back, we find out that MARK HENRY and SIN CARA have been drafted to Smackdown. Interesting.
Match Rating: 3.5/5 - Pretty enjoyable Match, followed by a great Punk promo. Not the greatest Draft in Henry, although my opinion changed later. Looking forward to seeing Sin Cara on Smackdown though.
Wade Barrett vs Rey Mysterio - Winner Received TWO Draft Picks
Wade pounds on Rey then puts a knee in betweens his shoulders, but Rey fights out and kicks him then hits a cross body. Wade throws him in the corner and puts him up on the top turnbuckle, but Rey shoves him off and sets him up for a 619. Rey goes back up top and lands a corner splash and makes the cover.
We get shown the first pick is BIG SHOW and he comes out to celebrate with the Crowd. The Draft then continues and the second draftee to Raw is... ALBERTO DEL RIO! He's backstage however, arguing with Ricardo Rodriguez, his Ring Announcer as we hit a Break again.
Match Rating: 3/5 - Not a terrible Match, but it was followed up by Two GREAT Picks, especially in ADR. Can't wait to see what he's got in store here.
CM Punk, Alberto Del Rio & The Miz (Raw) vs John Cena, Christian & Mark Henry - The Winning Team Received The FINAL Draft Pick
Teddy Long comes out to announce this Match and the 6 Men make their entrances in T-Shirt's of their Brands respective Colour. Christian hip tosses Miz then tags in Cena, and Miz ducks outside as we go to a commercial. When we return, Cena hits a suplex on Miz and a dropkick on Punk, then tags in Mark Henry. He steps on Punk's chest then drags him to the corner and tags in Christian, who hits a diving elbow drop off the middle turnbuckle. Christian gets distracted by Alberto and gets dropped by Punk, who makes the tag to Alberto. He hits a jumping corner kick then tags in Miz, and Miz keeps Christian away from his corner. Christian tries to fight back and make a tag but Miz pulls him down by his head and tags in Punk.
Punk and Miz use quick tags to keep Christian down, then Alberto gets back in and jumps and drops down on Christian's arm. He continues to work on Christian's arm but he reaches the ropes and the ref orders a break. Alberto tries taking Christian up top, but Christian punches him and hits a tornado DDT then finally gets the tag to Cena. Miz tags in and gets clotheslined by Cena, and Cena taunts Punk then turns around and gets taken out by his teammate Mark Henry! Henry knocks out Christian on the floor and Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale on Cena to win the match and the last pick!
The Superstars images on the Tron roll through and eventually, in a shocker, Cena is drafted BACK to Raw! He hits the Ring and attacks Del Rio, Punk & Miz to end the show, celebrating his return to Raw.
Match Rating: 5/5 - I thought it was a GREAT way to end the Show. Brilliant match, little twist with Cena, made it all good.
Overall Raw Rating: 4/5 - Overall a Brilliant show. Loved nearly every minute of it. Great Drafts and we've got the Supplemental Draft today, which is a little something extra to look forward to.
Just quickly, I want to Rate the Drafts in themselves. Some, to me, were better than other, so here we go.
Cena to Smackdown & Back to Raw - 5/5 - Genius idea to me, really annoyed some who wanted him over there, (such as Jenks.)
Mysterio to Raw - 3/5 - A good place for him to be, but fell flat because of Cara ending up on Smackdown
Randy Orton to Smackdown - 4/5 - Looking forward to what's gonna happen with him, WHC soon?
Mark Henry to Smackdown - 1/5 changed to 3/5 - Wasn't bothered at all, but his little Heel Turn got me that bit more interested.
Sin Cara to Smackdown - 3/5 - Such as Rey, fell flat when they weren't on the same Brand. Although I could see Cara vs Gabriel being good.
Big Show to Raw - 2/5 - Nothing really exciting for me here. Although him & Kane may lose the Titles soon because of it.
Alberto Del Rio to Raw - 5/5 - Love it! Can't wait to watch him every Monday, with the WHC in his Hand's.
That's it. One final thing I will say is, because the WWE Champion is on Raw and no matter what, after Extreme Rules, it still will be. IF Del Rio wins at ER, then both the Major Titles will be on Raw, which is why I actually see Christian winning. Let me know what you think though.
J4L.
