J4L's Weekly Raw Review

J

Johnny Scumm

InZayn In The Membrane
This Thread will now be used for me to do a Raw Review each week in. People can comment on it, reply against my views or whatever, but the main reason for this is for me to express what I thought of Raw. I will do the same for Smackdown from this Saturday.

Undertaker Promo
A pretty good promo again from Undertaker, where he again talks about facing Triple H at Wrestlemania. He then talks about Shawn Michaels. They play a clip of Undertaker letting rip on Michaels in their 'Mania Matches. He then lets everyone know that his match this year against Triple H will be No Holds Barred. He says Triple H will die trying to break the streak and will "Rest.In.Peace".
Overall, pretty decent promo from the Deadman. I still love his new entrance and think he's good on the Mic.
Promo Rating - 3/5

Nexus/Orton Segment/Match
We are cut automatically backstage to The New Nexus beating down Orton before his match. Couple of smashes into a Cabinet, followed by a GTS makes Orton look pretty much dead. I thought this was a good way for Nexus to take advantage of the Wrestlemania Stipulation, getting at least one member on their side. Finally, they get out to the Ring and it's Orton vs Otunga. Otunga beats on Orton, then slams him to the Mat. Goes for a pin, only gets 2. He hits his finisher on Orton, still only gets 2 from another pin. He looks to attack Orton yet again, but Orton hits the RKO out of nowhere. To me, a shit ending to it. Why does Orton always have to do something like this? Otunga, in my eyes, was the only one worth being in Punks corner at WM, now he isn't. After the match, Ryan comes down to attack Punk, but ends up eating an RKO from Orton. Again, is that really needed? Orton then punts Otunga in the head and dares Punk to do something about it and that segment ends.
Match Rating - 3.5/5

Christian vs Brodus Clay
Alberto Del Rio comes out with Clay and tells Christian that he will not be fighting him, but Clay. Not a terrible match, Clay isn't that slow for his size, surprisingly. He works on Christian's Pectoral Muscle throughout, hoping to injure him again. Eventually, Christian hits a Tornado DDT to get the 3-Count and the win. After the match, Del Rio attacks Christian, working his Pectoral, putting him into the Cross Armbreaker, leaving Christian in the middle of the Ring.
Match Rating - 2.5/5

Diva's Championship Match - Eve vs Nikki Bella
I wasn't going to pay attention to this match, but there was an interesting exchange of words between Cole & Matthews, leading to Cole picking up a Microphone and standing on the Announce Table. He tells the two girls Wrestling to move their match along so that he can move on to the Main Event, of him announcing who his Special Referee for the Match against Jerry Lawler will be. Once he stops talking, Eve hits a Spinning Neckbreaker on Nikki to retain her title. To me, nothing interesting here apart from the Cole interruption, which was pretty amusing really.
Rating - 2.5/5

Cole Announces Guest Referee
Best segment of the Night right here. Cole is in the Ring and will now announce his Guest Referee, who is a Former Champion, a legend and WWE Icon. He gets an Austin Chant going and the crowd really get into it. Cole leads on to call them all fools and he then announces that his referee is none other than J.B.L! J.B.L makes his way to the Ring, where he hugs Cole. He says that he is making his way back to the Main Event of Wrestlemania with Cole. As J.B.L goes to sign the Ref's Contract for the Match, Stone Cold's music hits and the crowd go wild. Austin comes down to the Ring, poses, then stares at Cole. If you watched carefully, as J.B.L protects Cole, Austin says "I don't want you, I want that motherfucker right there", whilst pointing at Cole. Eventually, Austin boots Layfield in the Gut then hits him with a Stunner. His Music goes off and he starts a Beer Bash on the Ropes. He gets some more Beer, standing over J.B.L, drinking one whilst pouring one onto his face. He picks up the contract and tells the Crowd to give him a "HELL YEAH" if they want him to sign it. He does so and announces that the special guest referee for the Cole vs Lawler Match is Stone Cold Steve Austin. And that's the bottom line because "Stone Cold said so!". He has 3 Beers in his hand and he walks over to Cole. He shakes Cole's hand and follows it with pouring the Beers over his Head. Layfield then gets up in the Ring and Austin has 2 Beers in his hand. He hands Layfield one, they drink and Austin hits him with yet another Stunner, ending the Segment with Swagger comforting Cole at the top of the Ramp. To me, the best part of the Night and the best part of a lot of Raws I've seen in a long time. Austin, J.B.L & Cole all made it perfect. I loved seeing a return of J.B.L. How long it lasts we do not know, but lets hope we see him next week.
Segment Rating - 5/5

Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus
Short match here, with Brian winning by Count-Out when Sheamus is rolling on the outside with an injured leg. After the match, Sheamus challenges Bryan to a match next week for the U.S Title, where is Sheamus doesn't win, he will quit.
Match Rating -2.5/5

CM Punk vs R-Truth
Yet another filler match, nothing hugely special here, but better than Bryan and Sheamus' time on-air. Punk wins the match here with an Anaconda Vise submission.
Match Rating - 3/5

Vickie Guerrero & Dolph Ziggler/Ziggler vs Morrison
Vickie comes out to announce the latest member of the Raw Roster, Dolph Ziggler. He then has a match against Morrison, which has some good, atheletic, back and forth action until Ziggler wins the Match with the Zig-Zag. Vickie and Dolph celebrate, until the GM chimes in. He says he has re-hired Ziggler, but not Guerrero. He says that Vickie can have a job on Raw, as long as she wins her match next week, against.... TRISH STRATUS!.
Segment Rating - 3.5/5

Cena Delivers Final Knockout
Cena says that Rock has told him not to address him with "Rap", so Cena has decided he will address him with "Hip-Hop". He delivers some verses about Rock reading from an AutoCue (Teleprompter), as well as telling him to show up. Cena pulls out a "Pearl Necklace" gag, as well as Rock's new Shirt which says "I Bring It, Via Satellite". He then finally warns Rock not to call him out again and gets ready to leave. As he turns around, he gets smashed with the Title Belt in the Head, twice. Miz then warns Cena and The Rock, that he is better than them and The Rock better watch out because "HE'S THE MIZ AND HE'S...". Miz then follows it up with Skull Crushing Finale and a People's Elbow and a shout of "AWESOMEEE!" to end the Show. I enjoyed this, but Cena's Rap just doesn't do anything. They're not that humourous, but I did like the T-shirt bit. Pretty good segment to end Raw, but I always believe the show should end on a match, like the one we saw last week.
Segment Rating - 4/5

Overall, it was great with the Austin segment and the Undertaker Promo and the Ziggler part. Some matches fell flat, or just weren't very good and it seemed as though they tried to cram in matches around some decent promos.
Overall Raw Rating - 3.5/5
 
His rap was just stupid. I had a feeling his "Final KO" would end up being lame or whatever, but Jesus, it was total fuckin' shit. All John Cena did was make The Rock look even better. John Cena is the biggest star of today and fails in comparison to The Rock.

The Rock needs to just break out the guitar and end this thing with Cena.
 
Crooked I said:
His rap was just stupid. I had a feeling his "Final KO" would end up being lame or whatever, but Jesus, it was total fuckin' shit. All John Cena did was make The Rock look even better. John Cena is the biggest star of today and fails in comparison to The Rock.

The Rock needs to just break out the guitar and end this thing with Cena.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I agree with everything you've said. From the start of this, I didn't think Cena had a leg to stand on. He DID run his mouth about The Rock and it was too a UK paper. He initiated it, storyline wise or not.

The reason Cena is where he is in WWE is because he says and does whatever Vince tells him. That's part of the problem, wrestlers now(more then ever) are nothing more then Vince's puppets.

I think the fans truly underestimate how maniacal Vince is.

Anyway, Vince is going to keep this a stalemate between The Rock and Cena because it doesn't benefit to bury either.

Other then that, I wasn't that impressed by Austin's return. It was "vintage" Austin as he raised hell and left. The segment just seemed too predictable though, like I had seen it before.

[YOUTUBE]YMNlljWqPj4[/YOUTUBE]

And JBL just straight up disgusts me, can't stand the sight of him.
 
Right, let's get started.

Rock Promo
Gotta say, I enjoyed this. Rock saying it how it is to Cena, laying his smacketh down verbally. Thought that the little skit with the kid coming in was good. We hear Rock ask him how he feels, only to cut him off with an "It doesn't matter how you feel!". It got better when he apologized, gave the kid a Cena shirt to blow his nose on, followed by some Fruity Pebbles. Rocky then addressed The Miz, telling him he is keeping his promise of showing up live and that the only thing he should be concerned of is the "Smackdown he will lay on their asses". Pretty good Promo to start off, it comes naturally to Rocky and was all pretty entertaining.
Promo Rating: 3/5

Miz/Cole Promo
Show begins and we see Michael Cole in a Glass Booth, which he is calling his "Colemine". Gotta say, I actually loved this. Thought it was genius. Miz puts down The Rock, says he's better than his father and grandfather, followed up with saying that Rock will cry if he steps into the Ring with him. He is praying that Rock brings it. General Manager chimes in to announce that tonight there will be TWO "First Time Ever" matches. We will see John Cena vs Alberto Del Rio. Miz says he's beat everyone, so who does he get? The Great Khali comes down to the Ring and the match begins...
Promo Rating: 3/5

The Miz vs The Great Khali
Miz gets in the first hit, but very quickly Khali takes over, beating down on The Miz. Eventually, Miz gets locked into the Vise Grip. However, he manages to make it to the ropes. Alex Riley then gets into the Ring and goes after Khali, but he ends up taking a Chokeslam. Khali is the default winner by DQ, but Miz gets into the Ring with a Chair and unloads. He beats Khali over the back with it, cutting him open, it looks pretty nasty until we get it close up. Eventually Miz DDT's him down onto the Chair, picking it up and walking to the back. In my eyes, a great way to show Miz in a different, more brutal light. We usually see him as a Champ who hides behind others, but without Riley to help him, this goes out the window. Even though we saw Alex here, it didn't have any true effect as he got attacked right away. Overall, good way to get the Wrestling going.
Match Rating: 3/5

A small Backstage skit involving JoMo, Snookie, Dolph & Vickie takes place as we get ready for the next match.

Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan (c) - United States Championship Match
If Sheamus loses, he will quit the WWE
Absolutely great action to start off the match here, with Sheamus getting the upper hand early, only for it to be literally flipped around by Bryan. Lots of high spots, flips, kicks and dives from Bryan. There's a good set where Sheamus is in the LeBell Lock, breaks the hold, gets Bryan up for a High Cross, for it to be rolled up by Bryan. He gets to the top rope, going for a dive on Sheamus, who hits Bryan with a Brogue Kick in mid-air, getting the 1-2-3 and the win.
New United States Champion - Sheamus
Match Rating: 4/5

Cole/G.M.S/Lawler/Jim Ross Promo
2 Weeks, 2 5-Star Promo's. Last weeks being the Austin/Cole/JBL, this week being this one. Cole says he's going to reveal more about Lawler, so brings out Grand Master Sexay or Brian Christopher, Lawler's Son. Long winded speech here, about how Brian never felt like he had a father, that being the reason he never went by the Lawler name. He gets slapped by his Dad, then puts him down on the Mic and leaves. Cold starts running his mouth and is eventually interrupted by Jim Ross. He puts down Cole, who retaliates by calling him a "Rat Bastard". JR removes his hat and jacket, as we see Swagger turn up and attack Lawler. Swagger then moves to the Ring and puts Ross in the Ankle Lock. As much as I hated seeing it, it was effective and that's what was needed. Lawler attempts a save, but ends up in the Ankle Lock as well. Cole then puts Ross in the Ankle Lock, as the segment comes to a close.
I say again, this was a brilliant Promo. I think that Cole vs Lawler has had the best build-up out of any match that's taking place at Wrestlemania. It's just got better each week and I actually cannot wait to see what happens next week.
Promo Rating: 5/5

Randy Orton vs Mason Ryan
For me, this was nothing special, yet again. Why give Orton everything? I think the way we've seen him perform recently gives Punk a certified win at Wrestlemania. Basically with this match, Ryan dominates the whole match, hitting many high impact moves, with Orton hitting the RKO out of nowhere to get the win. After this, Orton punts Ryan, has a staredown with Punk and that one is all over.
Match Rating: 1.5/5

Trish Stratus vs Vickie Guerrero - No Disqualification Match
If Vickie wins, she gets a Job on Raw. If she loses, she has NO Job.
After some talking from Snookie In-Ring, Vickie makes her way down to the Ring. This is followed by Trish Stratus and the match is underway. There's a lot of making Vickie look pathetic, with her removing her shoes. Trish hits her ass with her Show and Dolph comes down to get Trish off Vickie. JoMo makes his way down and throws Dolph to the outside. He hits a Corkscrew Dive onto him, but LayCool get into the Ring and takes out Trish. LayCool and Vickie sit on Trish as she gets the Pin and the Win.
Post-Match, McCool takes the piss out of Snookie on the outside, but as she goes to get into the Ring, Snookie grabs her leg and McCool hits her face on the Apron. She takes Layla down and thrashes her head into the Mat, with Stratus doing the same to Michelle. Eventually, they bail and join Vickie and Dolph on the outside. Vickie then challenges them to a match at Wrestlemania.
Dolph Ziggler and Laycool vs JoMo, Trish Stratus and Snookie! is a match now set in stone, as Snookie accepts on the Face's behalf.
Surprisingly entertaining this one. For once, a Diva's related segment I watched throughout. Mainly because of how hot Snookie looked and I hoped she wasn't wearing a Bra under that Leotard, but she was. :suspic:
Match/Promo Rating: 3/5

John Cena vs Alberto Del Rio w/Brodus Clay
Decent match up here. On two occasions, both men are down, with the Ref counting, but on both occasions, the man make it to their feet in time. Cena hits his usual moves, lifting Del Rio up for the Attitude Adjustment, but Brodus gets into the Ring and hits Cena, giving him the win by DQ. The Rock's Music hits and the Crowd erupt. What most of them do not notice is it's The Miz in a Bald Cap and Fake Tan. Eventually the Crowd clock on and The Miz attacks Cena once, allowing Del Rio and Clay to take over. Eventually, Cena ends up on the outside and Miz takes over. He grabs a mic and says "Here's your Road to WrestleMania" and cracks Cena with the mic. He suplexes Cena on the Ramp, breaks out of an AA, DDT's Cena on the Stage, and ends with a Skull Crushing Finale onto the "WWE" Metal Logo. To me again, a great moment with Miz fooling the Crowd. Just like Punk pretending to be Hardy, great way to do it. Just like the first match with Miz getting one over on Khali, Miz got one over on Cena. Decent ending to an allright show.
Match Rating: 4/5

Round-Up
The guys REALLY pulled out all the stops today. The show did have everything, in small doses. It was slightly nostalgic, in some ways. Blood (The minimal accidental amount), the swearing (They even got in a Bastard!), the Jim Ross, all of it was enjoyable in some way, shape or form. It's definitely true that the WWE do their best in the lead up to Wrestlemania, shame they can't do it all year around really, because I'd love to see it.
Overall Show Rating: 3.5/5
 
Opening Segment (Cole/HHH/DiBiase)
We begin with Justin Roberts introducing Jim Ross and his music hits. As he comes out, we realise it's Michael Cole in dress-up. He gives Lawler some BBQ Sauce, then gets into his ColeMine. Triple H's Music hits and now the show is truly underway. He comes down to the Ring to cut a Promo on his match at Wrestlemania against Undertaker. He talks about how it will be the biggest match there is, a defining moment in both mens careers. He asks Undertaker to appear on next weeks Raw, so they can come face to face one more time before Wrestlemania. Trips then says that this will be the end of it, with The Undertaker going 18-1 and that he will Rest In Peace. Ted DiBiase comes out, to tell Trips that he is an afterthought of last year's Wrestlemania and that he will take out HHH right now. He gets down to the Ring and the two start brawling. For about 5 seconds, DiBiase has the upper hand, but then HHH just takes over, beating down Ted. In the end, he uses Undertakers signature Throat Slash and puts him through the Announce Table with a Pedigree.
Segment Rating: 3.5/5

Segment - Sheamus vs Bourne/Sheamus Promo.
Nothing much more than a squash match here, to put Sheamus over as Champ. Bourne goes for the Air Bourne, but hits the canvas, with Sheamus then hitting the Brogue Kick for the win. Sheamus then says that he is the "Champion of the United States of America". Daniel Bryan then comes out and says as the previous Champion, he wants to invoke his rematch clause, at Wrestlemania. Sheamus throws the Title at Bryan, followed up with a Brogue Kick, which sets up the match; Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan for the United States Championship at Wrestlemania.
Segment Rating: 3/5

Quick promo here with Orton, who talks about how his Tour Bus is like his Home from Home, saying he watched footage of the birth of The New Nexus, but also watched him punting them all in the head. He says Punk may be twisted, but he will take him out very soon.

Maryse vs Eve Torres
Maryse mocks Eve then slams her head into the turnbuckle, and chokes her on the ring ropes with her knee. Maryse misses a move off the ropes then Cole starts running his mouth about ending the match, and Eve starts screaming at him to shut up. Eve goes for a standing moonsault but Maryse gets her knees up and goes for a neckbreaker. Eve holds on and hits a swinging neckbreaker of her own and gets the pinfall. After the match, Cole starts running his mouth yet again, but Eve goes after him in the ColeMine. Constantly asking Eve if she "wants some of this", Cole gets her removed by security. It's strange how he's making Diva's Matches interesting.
Segment Rating: 2.5/5

The Corre vs Santino/Kozlov
We have some back and forth action here and it's not a terrible match. We hope to see The Cobra at one point, but we don't get it. Eventually, Barrett interferes, allowing Slater to hit a Reverse DDT, followed by Gabriel hitting the 450 Splash, for the win. Once the match is over, Big Show's Music hits, along with Kane's and the two men make it down to the Ring. They clear out the Ring, so both men can work on Big Zeke. They deliver a Double Chokeslam and that's that.
Match Rating: 3/5

Cena Promo
We're told Cena is live via Satellite from his home and he says he will go face to face with The Rock next week. He says his focus on Rock may have made him takes his eyes off of The Miz, but Miz deserves to be Champion. He then says he is watching Miz rewrite History tonight, because he will make history at Wrestlemania.
Promo Rating: 1.5/5

Cole/Lawler/Swagger Promo
Cole says that it is time for another one of his "Worldwide Exclusives". Jack Swagger comes out to stand in front of Lawler so that he can't get to Cole. Cole says that Brian Christopher has given him the "Lawler Photo Album" and some pictures are put up on the Tron of the Lawler Family. He calls Lawler and his Father cowards and bullies and says that Lawlers family all have one thing in common. They are all "Losers". Eventually, Lawler decides that he has taken enough and he gets up. Swagger punches him, but he just returns it and slams him into the Announce Table. Lawler gets into the Ring, but Coles runs, with Jerry chasing him. Lawler runs right into a Clothesline from Swagger and gets put into the Ankle Lock on the outside by both Swagger AND Cole to end the segment with both men standing over him.
Promo Rating: 4/5

Dolph Ziggler vs John Morrison
Dolph starts by beating on Morrison, with some back and forth action, Dolph getting the upper hand many times here. Eventually, Morrison clotheslines Ziggler to the outside and goes for a Dive. McCool gets up onto the Apron and yells at him to stop. Trish Stratus gets to Layla, then pulls McCool off of the Apron and the Anonymous General Manager chimes in. He says that there will now be a Handicap Match taking place, with;
John Morrison and Trish Stratus vs Dolph Ziggler, LayCool and Vickie Guerrero
This match gets underway, with Morrison attempting to keep Ziggler in the Ring, but failing as Dolph tags in Layla. Trish has to get into the Ring now, but gets kicked by McCool, who tags herself into the Match. She then tags Layla back in, who tags in Vickie. Vickie attempts a Dive onto Trish, but fails, with Vickie tagging in Ziggler. Morrison also gets in. Eventually, Morrison attempts Starship Pain, but tweaks his Knee after Ziggler moves. He hits the Zig Zag, tags in Vickie, who pins Morrison for the Team win.
Match rating 3.5/5

Randy Orton vs Rey Mysterio
A lot of back and forth to start the Match off here. Randy goes for his Spike DDT, with Rey blocking it. He then attempts the 619, which is blocked by Orton, as he hits his Spike DDT on Mysterio. As Orton is setting up for what could be an RKO, Punk appears on the Titantron, saying how he also loves Orton's Tour Bus and that he can't wait to meet Orton's wife. Orton leaves the Ring and runs to the Parking Lot, where his Bus is. Punk hits Orton from behind in the Knee with a Wrench, continuing by beating on Orton while Orton's wife screams at him, with Punk screaming back. He kicks Orton in the Head, followed by blowing a Kiss to Mrs. Orton and leaving. Orton's Wife calls out for someone to help her.
Match/Segment Rating: 3.5/5

The Miz Rewrites "Miz-Tory"
Alex Riley is in the Ring, saying he has been Re-Hired under a new Title and he introduces The Miz. The Miz talks about how people used to pay to see Muhammed Ali and Michael Jordan when they were at their best and now they are paying to see The Miz. Miz calls himself the "Greatest WWE Champion ever" and says he is bigger than both the WWE and the WWE Universe. Miz says he's "Flipped" the WWE, taking the Mic Cover off and turning it upside down, stating it's an M, for Miz. There is a Box in the Middle of the Ring and the Miz pulls the cover from it, revealing the WWE Title Belt, with the Spinner flipped upside down, to look like an "M" instead of a "W". He holds the Belt up, but is interrupted by Cena on the Tron. As Cena is talking, some men come in and begin to take apart his "Home", revealing that he was in the Arena the whole time. He says he was in his home, the WWE, and Miz and Riley are in his Living Room. Cena makes his way to the Ring, with Miz even throwing the Table at him down the Ramp. Cena tries to beat the two men down as they try to hold on to Cena, attempting to halt him. Eventually, Miz bails from the Ring and Cena locks in the STF on Riley. He is forced to break it, yet eventually puts it back on. Again, he is forced to break the hold, but as Miz comes back out again, not coming to the Ring, Cena locks his hold in once more on Riley.
Rating: 4/5

Overall, a pretty good Raw. I think Sheamus is a great Mid-Carder, anyone with me? We started off good with the HHH, Sheamus, Daniel Bryan etc, moving into better with the Cole Promo, which I look forward to every week. Next week's has to be a Killer as it's the last Raw before Wrestlemania. Great matches after with Ziggler, Morrison, Orton and Mysterio, ending on a really good segment. I do think that the WWE Title looks pretty dumb with the "M", but it serves a purpose which is fine by me. I also thought that they nearly gave away their Wrestlemania Mixed Tag Match, just without Snookie. Finally, Ortons wife CANNOT act one bit, she was terrible and all she had to do was scream. However, she looked hot and had a nice pair. Was a pretty good show on the whole, nice and enjoyable.
Overall Raw Rating: 3.5/5
 
Right, I'm going to apologize in advance here. I've not got any time at all today to type up what happened in the whole show for myself, so I am taking all of the match descriptions and Promo's from the WZ Page. It's not typically something I want to do, but it's all I have time for. However, if you want to donate what you all thought about Raw from last night, then please tell me, so I can react to what you have said.

CM Punk/Randy Orton Opener
CM Punk is sitting in the ring as RAW starts, and he says he will miss his people cheering him. He says it won't be the same when he gets to Atlanta, and they are his people like Nexus were his people. He changes his tune and says he doesn't care about them because Randy Orton is his problem, and he can get anyone he wants to watch his back. Punk says Orton's momentum is a false sense of security, and he caught Orton slipping up last week. After showing the clip of the bus attack from last week, Punk tells everyone that he knows Orton cares about his wife, but she goes to sleep knowing he's a coward, and he never should have punted Punk two years ago. He says he is warm inside with all of this anger, and he will close this chapter with Orton on Sunday at Wrestlemania.

Punk goes to leave but Orton makes his way out to the ring and he is bandaged up from the attack last week. Punk goes after him as soon as he gets to the apron but Orton defends himself and hits the hanging DDT. He starts punching the mat and waits for Punk to get up then he stops and stands up and gets ready to punt Punk again. Orton gets ready to run but stumbles on his injured leg and Punk rolls out of the ring, then gets back in when he realizes Orton is hurt. He taunts Orton for a moment then kicks his bag leg, and taunts him as Orton tries to use the ropes to stand back up. Punk laughs and puts him over his shoulder, and hits the GTS to the delight of the hometown crowd.
Rating: 4.5/5

E&C vs Alberto Del Rio & Brodus Clay
Christian hits a forearm smash off the top and Edge and Christian double team Brodus, then throw him outside. Christian goes to dive on him, and Brodus catches him in the air, but Edge kicks Brodus to knock him down as we go to a commercial. When we return, Alberto has Christian in an armlock, then knocks him down with a short clothesline and tags in Brodus. He steps on Christian and bodyslams him, then tags Alberto back in and he hits a second rope elbow drop on the way in. Christian goes on a comeback and catches him with a tornado DDT and crawls towards Edge, and gets the tag as Alberto gets to Brodus. Edge drops him with the Edge-O-Matic, and sets up for a spear, but Alberto pulls his leg from outside to knock him down. Christian goes after Alberto and hits him but Alberto is able to irish whip Christian into the guardrail. Back in the ring, Brodus misses a corner splash and Edge hits the spear to pick up the win.
Alberto attacks Christian on the floor while the ref is handing Edge his belt inside the ring. He has the Cross Armbreaker applied until Edge notices what is going on and runs Alberto off. He goes back to check on Christian but Alberto runs back down the ramp and clotheslines him on the ground. He puts Edge in the Cross Armbreaker and starts yelling at him in Spanish until he breaks the hold.
Rating: 3.5/5

Justin Gabriel (w/The Corre) vs Santino Marella (w/Vladimir Kozlov, Tamina, Big Show & Kane)
Santino avoids a trip by Slater and gets kicked in the head by Gabriel, then gets put in an armbar near the ropes. Santino rolls out and avoids an elbow, then hits a hip toss and a diving headbutt. Slater tries to distract Santino again but Kane knocks him on the ground and Kozlov trips Gabriel while the ref is turned around. Santino gets psyched up and hits the Cobra while Big Show, Kane and Kozlov keeps the rest of Corre out of the ring.
Rating:3/5

The Undertaker and Triple H Face-Off
The Undertaker comes out to the ring, followed by Triple H, who stares at him from the stage before coming down to the ring. He goes to do his water pose, but the gong sounds and the lights in the arena go out. The gong sounds again and the lights come up, and they have another stare down, until 'Sexy Boy' hits and Shawn Michaels is in the building! HBK makes his way out to the ring and poses on the ropes while Taker and HHH continues to stare at each other.

Shawn gets a mic and says he is sorry for interrupting, but there is no way he was going to miss this. He puts over the match this Sunday and talks about both guys' accolades, then says they will never be the same again. He asks HHH what makes him think he can do what he couldn't, and HHH looks surprised. He tells HBK the truth is he got soft, and he realized he doesn't need to win to be the Showstopper, but HHH isn't him and he needs to win. HHH says he came here 16 years ago and one guy stood out, because he wrestled no matter what, and he modeled his career after that guy. HHH tells him it was the Undertaker, and the only guy he respects more than him is Shawn.

He says he and Shawn made a pact to tell each other when to stop, and he came back after a year for one reason only. He came back to look Undertaker in the eyes and tell him it's time, eventhough he and everyone else might not understand. HHH tells him he will always be the Phenom but he will be 18 and 1 after Sunday. He says he'll be the one, whether he likes it or not, and tells Taker with all due respect his streak will rest in peace.

Taker says if anyone had to put him out, he'd want it to be HHH, because that's the respect he has for him. He knows HHH will kill himself trying, but it's not his time, and the streak will live on and so will the Undertaker. He tells him if he doesn't believe him, ask Shawn, because he came that close, but didn't get it done. He says when he looks at Shawn now, he doesn't see the same guy, because now he sees a man that he humbled. He says he sees a guy going into the Hall of Fame with regrets, and a guy whose career he ended.

Shawn gets pissed off and tries hitting Taker with Sweet Chin Music but Taker catches his leg and tries to chokeslam him. HHH gets in the way and breaks them up, then HHH gets in Taker's face and tells Shawn to tell him why HHH will beat him. Shawn looks worried, and leaves the ring and tells HHH he's sorry, while Taker sarcastically tips his hat and leaves the ring.
Rating: 5/5 (Definitely moment of the night)

Jack Swagger vs Jerry Lawler
King gets distracted by Cole and gets attacked by Swagger in the corner. He splashes on King from the turnbuckle then throws him outside and over the guardrail while Cole yells at him to take him out. Swagger taunts the fans then goes to King but Lawler surprises him with a punch to the face then starts beating him with a chair. The ref rings the bell then King goes after Cole and he starts smashing the Cole Mine with the chair. Security holds him back and makes him leave the area and Cole throws a drink in his face and calls him a loser as we go to a break.
Winner (by DQ) - Jack Swagger
Rating: 3.5/5

Tag Match - Dolph Ziggler & Sheamus vs John Morrison & Daniel Bryan
Sheamus pounds on Morrison but he gets a foot up in the corner and knocks Dolph off the apron. Morrison goes for a springboard kick but Sheamus cuts him off and puts him down with the Irish Curse as we go to a break. When we return, Sheamus is still in control and has Morrison in an abdominal stretch, but Morrison counters and crawls towards Bryan.

Bryan hits Ziggler with a dropkick then dropkicks Sheamus off the apron, and puts Ziggler in the LeBell Lock. Sheamus breaks the hold then all four guys are fighting before Ziggler and Morrison get thrown outside. Bryan goes for the LeBell Lock again, but Sheamus powers out and throws him into the corner, then hits the High Cross and makes the cover.
Winners - Sheamus & Dolph Ziggler
Rating: 3/5

Trish/Snooki/Lay-Cool Bar Segment
Snooki and Trish are at a bar and Trish is telling a guy to go away so they can talk to Josh. Snooki is drunk and says she has moves and she is ready to bring it to LayCool at Wrestlemania. Trish says she is learning alot then the same guy asks if they want to get out of here. Snooki slaps him in the face and shoves him and he leaves, then LayCool shows up behind them. Snooki throws her drink at Layla and all four start a catfight around the bar. Snooki slams Layla's head on the floor while Trish and Michelle spill over on to the pool table. LayCool gets kicked out and Snooki and Trish call them bitches as they get up and check on each other.
Rating: 1/5 (Snooki was pissed out of her head, it was obvious)

The Rock/Cena/Miz Promo
The Rock is pacing backstage then waits for his music to hit and comes out all pumped up and poses on the turnbuckles. He says he is finally back in the city where it all started for him, and Chicago is very special to him. He says it was his first Wrestlemania in the same building as tonight, and he was nervous, but he decided to bring it. He says when you are on "Team Bring It" you go after your dreams, and his latest one is that he would call out John Cena. The crowd starts booing and starts a 'Cena Sucks' chant while the Rock makes fun of his shirts and calls him a homeless Power Ranger. He says he wants to put his fist to his face and his boots to his ass, but the dream is over, because the Rock is here!

Cena's music starts up and he makes his way out and says this is what he wanted, he got the Rock in a WWE ring and he hasn't missed a step. Cena says when he ran his mouth about Rock, he was one of the "millions" and he wanted a moment like this. He tells the Rock to look and listen, and feel the electricity, and Cena tells him he is glad he came back.

He says he wanted to listen to what the Rock said, because everything Cena said mattered and had meaning, and he wanted to know what problem the Rock had with him. Cena says Rock had a problem with his upbringing, music choices and mottos, and then says Rock made fun of Cena's audience. Cena tells Rock he is OK with whoever his fans are and says he worked his ass off to get where he is. He comes out and acts like himself every week, and he won't be judged by the Rock, but Rock says only God can judge them, but God can't stop him from kicking Cena's ass all over Chicago! Cena says if he wants to fight, then OK, and drops the mic but they get cut off by the Miz and Alex Riley.

Miz asks if this is how it will be and calls Rock overhyped and Cena overrated. Miz says Cena got one over on Miz last week, but he has owned Cena for the past month. He says at least Cena will show up for a fight, unlike the Rock, who won't risk getting beat up by the Miz for his movie career. Miz says he thinks Rock will just run his mouth and do nothing, and if he looks at him funny he will beat him so bad he won't be able to return to Hollywood. Rock says he should know it doesn't matter what you think, and Miz and Riley start putting the boots to Rock.

Rock fights back and knocks Riley over the top rope, then hits a DDT on Miz and kips up for the People's Elbow. Rock runs the ropes and hits the elbow, then throws Miz over the top rope. Cena slides back in the ring and lifts up Rock and hits him with the Attitude Adjustment! Cena pops up and does the "You Can't See Me" to Rock then leaves the ring. Cena points to the Wrestlemania logo on the Titantron as Rock starts coming to, and smiles as RAW goes off the air.
Rating: 5/5 (Second best moment of the night)

Right, I feel like I've slightly cheated you guys, 'cos I've put NONE of this into my own words at all. However, here's my Ten Cents. The show started off with a great Promo from Punk. It was then solidified with a great match from the two Tag Teams. Then we had that one-on-one which could've been a Lumberjack Match there was that many people outside the Ring. Seeing Kane do a Santino Celebration after the match was brilliant, yet very, very, very strange. Kane is most definitely a star, but I think he's in his last run now. Then we had that promo. Yes, The Undertaker and HHH faced off against each other. They didn't even get to say a word and fucking SHAWN fucking Michaels came out! Wow, I was getting all happy by this point. The speeches that each man gave were pure gold and then Taker said that Shawn was the man whose career he ended and then Shawn tried to hit him with a SCM, which failed and the way everything unfolded just had me on the edge of my seat. It was made 100% perfection when Shawn walked from HHH when he told him to say how he would win, but he couldn't. Swagger/Lawler was allright for what happened, the same with the Tag Team Match, although I now believe that the Faces will win their WM Matches. Bar Brawl was nothing special really, apart from seeing Snooki's underwear. Final segment made Rock look gold, which he really needed. I thought that the whole thing was brilliance really, with Miz starting the attack, to then take the People's Elbow, but for Cena to end it with the AA, just made the night whole.
Overall Raw Rating: 4/5

Please, talk to me about what you thought about this Raw, so I can truly give out my opinions and write some longer parts of my own, when I have time. I won't be around much today, too busy. But I'll try my very best.

J4L.
 
Right, well last night's Raw was pretty damn great! Like always, I'm going to rate what's happened and introduce something new that I brought into my Wrestlemania Review, which is Awards. There will be "Raw Awards" at the end of my Review.

Triple H Promo
We don't waste any time tonight as Triple H is the first out to the ring, and he says this is the most tired and beat up he has ever felt. He says he isn't emotional or rattled easily, but he was once he saw Undertaker make his entrance. He puts over Taker and says he is willing to kill himself to keep the streak alive, and they both left everything they had in the ring last night, but it wasn't good enough. He doesn't know what to call Taker, whether it's a phenom or supernatural, but he saw a man stretched out, a man willing to kill himself. He doesn't believe he is finished, but he came out to say thank you, and he knows he will be back, and HHH will be waiting.
Rating: 3/5

Cole Promo & Jerry Lawler vs Jack Swagger
Michael Cole comes out in a singlet and asks for everyone's attention, and says he overcame the odds and emerged victorious last night. He says the world was talking about him last night, because he stole the show, but Lawler tells him to shut up, and says he might have the win in his book, but everyone else will remember him as a worthless jackass. Cole says Lawler couldn't beat him with Stone Cold's help, and he challenges Lawler to a rematch. Lawler says he is on and gets in the ring, and Cole is smiling as he walks down the ramp, and tells him he didn't mean a Wrestlemania rematch. Cole says he meant a rematch from last week, and he brings out Jack Swagger and does push ups with him.

They lock up and move to the corner where Swagger drops Lawler with a fist, but King counters and punches back. Swagger gets pissed and charges the corner and runs his shoulder into King's ribs, then whips him to another turnbuckle. King avoids it and punches him but Swagger goes right back on offense and delivers a powerslam and begins to kick King in the stomach. Swagger lines up for a Swagger Bomb but King rolls out of the way and lands a few punches and a dropkick. He goes up top but Cole jumps on the apron to cause a distraction and King chases after him.
He finally catches Cole in the ring and starts pounding on him, but Swagger pulls King off and gets him to tap out to the Ankle Lock. Swagger keeps the hold on and refuses to let go, and the referee reverses the decision! Cole flips out and starts screaming at JR, asking if he is mocking him, and throws a bottle of BBQ sauce all over JR. He gets pissed off and starts walking towards Cole and calls him a dumbass, then Cole runs away backstage while JR goes back and checks on King.
Rating: 3.5/5

Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton vs CM Punk and Cody Rhodes
Cody punches Randy in the corner but Randy fights right back and hits a Thesz press and punches away at Cody's head. He tags Mysterio in and Cody puts the boots to him, but Mysterio goes for his protective mask and Cody bails to the outside. Orton has control of Cody when they get back in and he bodyslams him, then tags Mysterio in. He hits a splash then goes towards Cody, but he rakes the eyes and tags in Punk. He helps Cody hit a double elbow then goes back to the apron as Cody fights Orton in the corner.

Orton gets distracted by Punk, and Cody takes a cheap shot at his injured knee, then Punk tags in and picks him up for the GTS. Orton counters out and tries the RKO, but Punk shoves him away and chop blocks the same knee as we go to a commercial. When we return Punk misses a clothesline and takes a back body drop by Orton, then tries to keep Orton from making the tag, but is unsuccessful and takes a moonsault from Rey. Punk finally catches Rey and throws him into his corner, and gets help beating on him from Cody until Orton runs over and pulls him off the apron.

Cody doesn't stay down long and jumps up to interrupt a 619 attempt and hits the Beautiful Disaster to knock Rey down. Punk keeps Rey isolated, then attempts a powerbomb but Rey turns it into a hurricanrana instead and makes the tag to Orton. Punk immediately tags out and Orton hits a powerslam and a suspended DDT, then sets up for the RKO.

Punk tries jumping on Orton from the top turnbuckle, but Orton turns and sees him before he can act. Punk jumps down and backs away from the ring as Orton hits an Angle Slam, then runs in to break up the pin attempt, and gets dumped outside by Rey. Orton uppercuts Cody and he lands on the ropes, then Rey hits the 619 and Cody turns around into the RKO, and Orton makes the pin.
Rating: 4/5

Tough Enough Promo
Stone Cold Steve Austin makes his way out to the ring and he is here to introduce the Tough Enough contestants. They all make their way out to the ring and Austin tells them to introduce themselves, and they all take turns passing the mic around. After the last guy, the fans start a "Stun Them All" chant, and Austin laughs, but it is short lived as the Miz comes out to interrupt him.

Miz says when he was on Tough Enough, everyone told him to go back to "Real World", but after last night no one will ever tell him where to go again. He shows footage of him getting a concusion last night, and says he still retained his title, when most people would have quit. He beat John Cena in the main event of Wrestlemania, and tells them to look at the new face of the WWE, because this is the closest they will ever get to a WWE Championship. Miz mocks Austin and asks if he wants to hold the title too, then asks if he thinks he has one more run left in him. Miz asks if he is tough enough and says they should clear the ring and find out if he can have one more match. Austin looks at Miz, and tells the Tough Enough contestants to clear the ring.

Riley and Miz sneak attack Austin, and Miz runs from the ring while Riley punches him in the corner. Austin recovers quickly and stomps the crap out of Riley, then drops an elbow on him. Riley gets up and gets hit with a Stunner, and Austin starts tossing beers to his cast. They all toast him then he walks over to the Cole Mine and throws beers on Cole. Austin takes some more beers up the ramp and takes the cast with him while Cole is pissed and screams about what just happened.
Rating: 3.5/5

Alberto Del Rio vs Evan Bourne
Alberto takes some kicks from Bourne, but hits a huge big boot when Bourne runs at him in the corner. Alberto tosses him outside and throws him into the barricade, then rolls him back in the ring and tries keeping him down with knees. Bourne flips out of a suplex attempt and goes up top, but Alberto jumps up and cracks him in the head with a step up enziguiri. He pulls Bourne towards the middle and gets him to tap out to the Cross Armbreaker.
Rating: 3/5

Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero vs John Morrison and Trish Stratus
Morrison punches away at Dolph in the corner and he uses the ref break to tag in Vickie. Vickie taunts Trish but Trish chops her in the chest until Dolph tries to distract her, and Vickie takes her down by the hair. Vickie misses a leg drop and Morrison tags in, but he misses a Flying Chuck and Dolph hits a release suplex. He goes and taunts Trish, but he slaps him across the face and Dolph turns around and gets hit with the Flying Chuck. Morrison goes up top and hits Starship Pain, and Vickie screams from outside as Morrison makes the cover and the ref makes the three count.
Rating: 3/5

Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus - US Title Match
Bryan tries to tie Sheamus up, but he hits some elbows and knocks Bryan down with some running forearms. Sheamus continues to attack by whipping him into the corner, then ties him in the ropes and pounds on his chest until the ref breaks it up. Bryan is leaning on the ropes and Sheamus goes right back to it and knees him in the head, then applies a rear choke. Bryan rolls out and tries to run at Sheamus, but he spins him midair and connects with a backbreaker.

Bryan lands some kicks off the ropes and picks up some momentum with some clotheslines and a flying knee. Sheamus tries a uranage slam but Bryan goes for the LeBell Lock, but Sheamus lifts him up and drops him with a backbreaker. Sheamus hits him with the Brogue Kick and makes the cover, and retains his championship.

He isn't satisfied and starts kicking Bryan in the corner until Sin Cara makes his debut. He points to the fans then runs to ring and dives over the top rope. Sin Car ducks Sheamus and hits a hurricanrana, then dumps him outside and hits a big crossbody dive from the top turnbuckle. He runs off and poses on the top of the stage while Sheamus looks on from the floor and he can't believe what just happened.
Rating: 4/5

John Cena/The Rock Promo
John Cena comes out and says things didn't go his way last night, but he should have expected it since the Rock said he would kick some candy asses. He just didn't think Rock would decide the main event, but he is kind of glad he did, because it would have ended in a draw and that would have sucked. He says he still thinks Miz is annoying, but after what he showed him, Miz earned his respect. Cena brings his attention back to Rock, because it is obvious he doesn't have his respect and Rock doesn't like him. He says Rock is here tonight, and Rock got involved in his business, and they have business to settle right now.

Cena waits for Rock to come out and when he does, the fans start a Fruity Pebbles chant, and Rock asks Cena what he thought would really happen. He says he did talk trash, but it's what he does best, and the people love him for it. Rock tells him he is wrong about respect, because he does respect Cena, and he knows all about him. He knows Cena loves WWE, and he has become one of the best superstars and champions of all time, but he still doesn't like him. He says they are very different, except for one thing, and they both do everything the best that they absolutely can.

Cena tells him the time for talking is over, and tells Rock to listen to the fans, because they all want a match, and it is obvious. Cena asks if he wants to talk or bring it, and waits for Rock to do something about it. Rock says Cena has no idea what he just asked for, and says he will bring it, but he wants to do it on the grandest stage of them all. He tells him he wants it at Wrestlemania 28, and they shake on it!

They stare each other down until The Corre runs to the ring and starts to attack them, but it is short lived as Rock and Cena are able to fight them off. Cena hits a Five Knuckle Shuffle and Rock nails Barrett with a spinebuster and a People's Elbow, then Cena hits the Attitude Adjustment. Not to be outdone, Rock hits the Rock Bottom, and they shake one more time, and Rock points at him and says "one on one" as they leave the ring.
Rating: 4.5/5

WOW! Sorry, what was that? Wrestlemania 28 - THE MAIN EVENT?! Now that is what I call a good ending. Not only have we got The Rock vs John Cena, but it's at Wrestlemania! Talk about making us wait! I say that, we know that's it's gonna be epic once it does happen. Now, this episode of Raw was bloody good. Some great matches and promos. The debut of Sin Cara, which looked great. Granted, he botched that Entrance, but barely and I've never seen an Entrance like it. 4 Moves and he looked good. I guarantee he'll have a US Title Match next week AND he wins it. We had a great mid Main Event in the form of that Tag Match. Bourne and Del Rio's match was very entertaining as was the Mixed Tag Match and US Title Match. Overall, I loved the Show. What a way to kick it all off after Wrestlemania. The Road to Wrestlemania 28 has already started, which is a strange thing to say.
Overall Raw Rating: 4/5

Highlights: Every Match, The Debut of Cara and the Final Promo
Lowlights: Very little, HHH Promo pretty boring, Cole getting bland.

Raw Awards;
Best Match:Randy Orton & Rey Mysterio vs Cody Rhodes & CM Punk
Worst Match:Hard to pick, but the Mixed Tag Match (Just)
Best Moment:Sin Cara Debut/WM 28 Announcement
Worst Moment:All of the Tough Enough Cast introducing themselves, which went on a bit.
Least Expected Moment:Sin Cara attacking Sheamus
Most Expected Moment:Evan Bourne Losing
Best Looking Person:Rima Fakih
Worst Looking Person:Sheamus, looking more like a Superhero than Rey did at WM.

Well, that's me done. If you wanna add to it, or do your own Awards, feel free.
 
Number One Contender Debate
Cena out to the ring as King says this is the way to start RAW, not with Michael Cole! Cena says to look around! He knows we at home can hear this! What a great time to be in the WWE Universe. It's chaos, excitement and energy, because last week an announcement was made. For the first time an announcement was made that it will take a year to digest. "Rocky" chants. A match was made for WM28. Icon versus icon, a match that clashes generation against generation. A match that will be the biggest spectacle in sports entertainment. 1/ 4/12 Cena goes face to face with the Rock! A match that can electrify a crowd like this can't just be two competitors going face to face. It's going to be for the WWE Championship. If it's going to be the biggest match, it needs to be for the biggest prize. If it's going to be for the WWE Championship to be up, then the one who fights every week has to capture it. Cena asks Miz to come out so Cena can challenge him.

Orton cuts Cena off and comes out to the ring. Orton says with all due respect, any business from WM has been settled. He can blame Rock, make as many matches for next year, but it doesn't change the fact that Cena lost. Cena should step aside for someone who actually won his match at WM. Cena says that the way Orton's talking -

JoMo's music cuts Cena off. JoMo to the ring and tells them that he can see where this is going. The two of them arguing about who should be Champion. We've ALL seen this show before, and it's a good show, it's just not as good as it's going to be with JoMo involved. EXCUSE ME! If they're going to have this discussion, they need to involve JoMo.

EXCUSE ME!! This time she gets everyone's attention. Vickie tells JoMo that somebody new should have a Championship opportunity. But didn't Vickie pin JoMo a couple weeks ago? The person who should be next in line is Vickie! Okay, if it's not her, it should be Dolph Ziggler. Dolph says he's not on RAW to face Snooki. Look at him, he's the most talented in the ring right now! He's never faced Miz for the Title, so the line forms here. Once he's champ, they can all have a chance!

R-Truth's music hits and he comes out to the ring, gets the fans chanting 'what's up?' R-Truth gives a cheap pop to the fans and they love it. He says what's up is the gospel truth. He's never gotten a number one Championship match on any show. It's the truth and is 'what's up?'

Ding-Ding! He's in his mine and the email is on his iPad. And I quote, "You all make compelling arguments as to who gets the next WWE Championship Match against the Miz. So to end all arguments, I'm giving you all a chance to earn that opportunity. I've come up with a new concept in the form of a five man gauntlet match. Two Superstars chosen at random start this match. The winner will face the next random Superstar. This continues until all five have been in the match. The man that goes the distance is number one contender and faces Miz at Extreme Rules.
Rating: 3.5/5

Eve vs Brie Bella w/Nikki Bella
The Bellas in the ring in matching sparkly pinstriped outfits. Eve out in blue and gold. Eve pulls out a marker and wants an 'X' on the hand of one of the Bellas. They unhappily complied.

Brie on Eve hard, slams her into the corner then kicks at her as Cole rips down Eve's looks. Snap mare to Eve, then her face slammed down on the mat between Eve's own legs. Side chinlock on Eve. Eve up and free hitting a bulldog on Brie. Dropkick to Brie. A high kick to Brie's face, then a clothesline. Eve hits her standing moonsault, but Brie kicks out. Eve after Brie in a corner, but eats turnbuckle. Brie hung upside-down in a corner, then Eve hits a dropkick to Brie.
The twins swap out behind the refs back. Eve attacks her, but the ref throws her out. Brie back into the ring behind Eve, then slams Eve to the mat for three.
Rating: 2/5

Sin Cara vs Primo
Sin Cara comes running out, then flies over the top, rolling into the ring. Primo's already, there, but I didn't see him before the bell rings.

Primo diving and rolling an SC, but doesn't get far. They finally lock hands and Primo gets sent flying fast. Primo looks shocked. "Sin Cara" chants. Kicks to Primo, then kicks and elbows back to SC. SC runs the ropes, then somehow lands with his feet on Primo's upper chest and flips backward through the air to land on his feet. Beautiful monkey flip, then a drop kick to Primo, sending him from the ring. SC comes over the top, lands on Primo's shoulders and hits a hurricanrana as if it was nothing. Primo rolled back into the ring. Dropkick to SC through the ropes. Primo sends SC back into the ring. Kick, then blows to a kneeling SC, then a drop kick to SC. Primo pins for all of one.

Chinlock on SC in the center of the ring. SC slammed back onto the mat. SC backed into a corner and gets a chop. SC whipped, but moves and Primo eats the corner. Chops to Primo. SC runs the ropes, spiringboards off the second rope into a hurricanrana on Primo, then is somehow back up on his feet again! SC ducks a clothesline and his head scissors on Primo. Primo slugs SC in the gut and sets SC up for a power bomb, but SC somehow rolls down Primo into a sunset flip type thing. Primo into a corner and gets his feet up into SC's face. Primo stands on the corner, but SC runs up and kicks Primo in the back of the head. SC up top with Primo, both standing up there as if it was solid ground. Primo drops down with SC's head in hand and sends SC flying from the ring.

SC fairly quickly up and into the ring, Primo still lolling up top. Another kick to the back of Primo's head. SC back up, both standing up there. SC hits this backflip, takes Primo flying with him and plants Primo on the mat for three.
Rating: 4/5

The Corre vs Team APPLE
Bryan in the heel corner choked from outside. Slater on Bryan with kicks. Gabriel tags in and hit’s a drop kick to Bryan as Slater held him, then another to a seated Bryan. Big Zeke tags in and slams Bryan to the mat. Zeke drops an elbow for two. Bryan head by his head as Wade tags in. Blows to Bryan in the corner. Slater tags in and slams Bryan. Gabriel tags in coming over the top with a leg drop for two. Slater tags back in and puts a chinlock on Bryan. Bryan works to his feet, throws so punches but is hit in the back. Bryan face first into a corner. Bryan whipped, but gets a foot up into Slater's face. Bryan runs out and kicks Slater in the face. Both down. Slater grabs Bryan's foot, but he tags out.

Santino in works Slater over, then knocks Gabriel from the apron. Hip toss on Slater, then a head drop on Slater. Santino pins, Wade breaks it up and bodies fly in all directions. Evan flies. Bryan flies out through the ropes onto Wade. Santino sets up the cobra, but from the apron Gabriel kicks Santino in the back of the head. Slater hits his finisher and pins Santino for three. Clever Ending.
Rating: 3/5

Jack Swagger w/Michael Cole vs Jerry Lawler w/Jim Ross

They lock up. King to the ropes. Swagger with a punch, then a back body drop on King. Cole screeches. Swagger runs around the ring. JR tells King he'll go for the ankle, then yelled at Swagger to shut up. Upper cut to Swagger, then he mimics Swagger running around the ring. Swagger on King with blows in a corner. Side headlock on King as Cole crows. JR yells at King to counter. Back drop to Swagger.

Swagger grabs King's ankle and locks in. King gets to the rope, but Swagger holds for the whole five, then lets go. Swagger stomps on King as Cole yells at King to stay down, then attacks JR verbally. Swagger pins for two. Wristlock on King as JR tells Cole that Swagger's stupid. King up to his feet, but into a corner. Back elbow to King in a corner. Huge heat for Swagger's showboating. King eats another corner, then the next as Cole taunts him and King gets revved up.

The strap comes down and King on Swagger with huge blows. Kick to King's knee, then Swagger picks King up. King slides off, then hits a drop kick to send Swagger to eat a corner. Cole on the apron yelling to Swagger. "Jerry" chants from the fans. Cole on the apron distracts King. Swagger up and clotheslines King. Cole claps for Swagger, still up on the apron. JR comes around and pulls Cole's feet out from under him. Cole hits the apron, then the floor. Swagger reaches out and grabs at JR's head and shoulders through the ropes. King grabs Swagger from behind and rolls him up in a schoolboy for three.

JR is all pep, raises King's arm at announce as Cole starts to look green, really ill. King celebrates as Josh says King will get to set the stipulation for their match at Extreme Rules. Cole in and yells at Swagger. Cole calls Swagger an idiot. He goes off about paying Swagger good money. Cole then bitch slapped Swagger. Cole flees the ring yelling that Swagger deserves it. King grabs a mic and says that he gets to decide the match and the stipulation. He has a real good idea for the match. King wants to make it a Tag Team Match. King and JR against Cole and his former friend Swagger. Swagger, that's the guy who slapped the taste out of your mouth. How do you feel about that Swagger? Cole is back peddling on stage, looking down at Swagger in the ring.
Rating: 3.5/5

Edge's Big Announcement
Justin announces Edge who comes out through his smoke, to his music in jeans, a t-shirt and fine black leather jacket. He says we might have to bear with him. He might ramble and not make much sense. A lot of people think what they do doesn't hurt, that it's smoke and mirrors and he wishes it's not true, but it is. Anyone who's ever been in the ring, laced up the boots knows. Eight years ago he broke his neck. Spinal fusion surgery. They open you up, move your throat over, plates and screws and all that, really in depth. Because of that he knew he was wrestling on borrow time from that point on. The last little while he's been in a lot of pain. Losing feeling in his arm. He's had strength tests and made it through WM. WWE wanted him to go for more tests and luckily he did because the MRI showed he has to retire. Trust him, it's not his choice. The doctors told him that he has no choice. Thankfully they told him because he's not going to end up in a wheelchair now.

He stops here, scratches his head, looks lost as the fans cheer him. Tears in his eyes, he's welling up. "Thank you Edge!" chants. So, you know, thank you guys. "Thank you Edge!" fills the arena. This has been an emotional roller coaster of a week. He felt sorry for himself until he talked to Christian. For those of you who don't know, Christian has been his best friend for 27 years. See, he was angry at himself and his body as there's a lot in this company depending on him and he feels like he's letting them down. Letting the fans down. He was upset because he didn't feel he was ending on his terms, but Christian reminded him that Edge has competed his whole career on his own terms.

He's still like all of them, a huge WWE fan. Every month he and Christian would go to Maple Leaf Gardens and watch all the big names. They watched LOD, Demolition, Hogan, all of them and be enthralled, then he went to WM6 and watched Hogan against Warrior and said, "I'm doing this one day." Fast forwarding a bunch of years and he's main eventing WM against Taker. There's no way he'd have dreamed that. No way if you'd told him when he was 11 years old you'd told him he'd win more championships than anyone in the history of the company, he'd have never believed that.

If he's been told his last match would be at WM and he'd go out being WWE World Heavyweight Champion, he couldn't dream of a better way to go out. You know, he started in the WWE when he was 23, doing this 19 years, 14 with the WWE. His first match. His first match was May 10, 1996 in the Hamilton Copps Coliseum. He was 23 and feels like he grew up in front of us. He's made a lot of mistakes in front of us and learned from them. He feels he became a man in front of us.

He's gone from being the silent guy running around the streets of New York in a trench that was way too small for him, to a pseudo vampire in the Brood, to the goofy guy posing for 5 seconds with Christian, for those of you with benefit of flash photography. He became one of the most despised guys in the WWE. Been thrown in the Long Island Sound. He had a live sex celebration with luckily Lita and not Vickie. Edge gives a wry smile that breaks wide to show he really is poking fun at Vickie for this.

And he would hope that through it all he's earned the respect of everyone in the locker room and all of us fans' respect. No matter what he tried to give us as much as he could every night. In return the fans gave it back. So, he's going to miss all of this. All of it. He'll miss his music and coming out here. It's like a shot of adrenaline to the heart and it's amazing. But, that being said he doesn't have to wear tights tomorrow and he's eating a whole lot of ice cream tonight. If you asked him if he'd do it all again - all the way back to getting hired by JR (Edge points over at JR who has to be at announce). If you ask if he'd travel all the roads, log all the miles, hop on all the flights, all the sleepless nights, go through all the surgeries, the injuries, the metal rods in his teeth, all of it. Ask him if he'd do it again - in a heartbeat.

So, thank you. Thank you very much. Edge drops the mic, lets out a deep breath and looks around, soaking it all up as the fans get louder and louder. He gets half way out of the ring, pauses, then leaves, slapping some hands on his way by. Up on the stage he poses, fingers pointing high. (I'm in tears.)
Rating: 5/5 (It was sad to see him go.)

Five Man Number One Contender Gauntlet Match - Dolph Ziggler vs Randy Orton vs John Cena vs R-Truth vs John Morrison
Orton poses on a corner for the shell shocked fans. Dolph out to the ring with Vickie in tow.

They lock up, Dolph takes Orton over his shoulders to the mat easily. Orton looks up at Dolph, then nails Dolph with an upper cut for two. Dolph drop kicks Orton's leg, then slams Orton down, leg on the back of his head for two. Chinlock on Orton who's struggling for the ropes. King and Miz argue about mix beating all but Dolph previously. Orton up to his feet, but not free. Miz says none of them deserve to face Miz. Orton finally rolls Dolph off, nails a couple clotheslines, then that sick slam. Dolph on the apron and eats that sick DDT! Orton pounds the mat, gets ready as Dolph struggles around. Nexus on the apron and distract Orton. Dolph rolls Orton up with a schoolboy, holding tights, for three.

R-Truth is in the ring. Dolph attacks R-Truth after Vickie distracts. More blows on R-Truth. R-Truth whipped hard and lands on the floor for a one count. Elbow to the back of R-Truth's head, then nails an elbow for two. A chin/arm lock on R-Truth on the mat. Miz's mouth runs non-stop. R-Truth finally elbows free, but is slammed to the mat. Dolph pins for two.

Back drop to R-Truth as Miz thinks Rock should have challenged him, not Cena. Chinlock on R-Truth on the mat as Vickie screeches outside. R-Truth elbows out, but is then whipped. Dolph flies at R-Truth in the corner, but R-Truth moves and Dolph eats corner. They exchange blows, then Dolph slammed face first to the mat. Neck breaker to R-Truth for two. Miz gets into genetics and God, King isn't impressed. R-Truth slams Dolph face first to the mat and pins for three


JoMo out to the ring as R-Truth stands waiting. Miz to his feet and they yell smack back and forth over the ring.

Kick to JoMo's gut. Then a sunset flip roll through and they counter back and forth as the Divas used to commonly do. JoMo rolls R-Truth up for two. Flapjack to R-Truth. JoMo nails a hand spinning leg drop to R-Truth for two. Miz says he carried JoMo on his back for two years. He wouldn't listen to Miz who told him to stop that high flying stuff, but JoMo wouldn't listen. Chinlock on R-Truth. R-Truth elbows out, then JoMo slams R-Truth back with a leg sweep for two. Jaw breaker on JoMo, but then JoMo clotheslines R-Truth from the ring. R-Truth pulls JoMo from the ring. They both clothesline outside and both are down. JR asks about what happens if they're both counted out?

They both get back in at nine. R-Truth on JoMo with blows, but then eats a couple clotheslines and a back kick for two. R-Truth hit a strange slam/stunner on JoMo for two. R-Truth runs into a back elbow then a slingshot kick from JoMo. JoMo takes too much time and misses starship pain. R-Truth slams JoMo to the mat for three.

Cena's music hits and Miz says this is a little unfair, don't you think? JR says it's the luck of the draw and Cena got it. Miz glares at Cena from announce.

Very loud dueling chants of, "let's go Cena!" and "Cena sucks!" fills the arena. Gut wrench slam to R-Truth on the mat. Miz tells them to listen to the chants. 'Let's go Cena' from the five year olds and girls and 'Cena sucks' from everyone else! Drop kick on R-Truth for two. Hard release suplex on R-Truth for two. Cena looks shocked that R-Truth managed to kick out again. Back suplex on R-Truth for another two! Cena looks concerned, confused. Cena picks R-Truth up, puts him on his shoulder, then uses R-Truth's belt as a handle to slam R-Truth down for two. Cena is very confused. R-Truth pounds the mat in frustration. Another suplex on R-Truth for two. Cena half smiles.

Cena to the apron and climbs. Cena flies and sort of nails R-Truth with a leg drop that almost completely misses R-Truth, but R-Truth sells well! Cena again pins for two. This time he laughs. Miz is watching closely, looking pissed. R-Truth fights back with a huge right hand from R-Truth. The dueling chants get louder than ever. Clotheslines from R-Truth! Hip toss from R-Truth. R-Truth nails Cena with a spinning kick and pins Cena for two.

R-Truth lines Cena up and flies at him, but is pushed off. Shoulder blocks, then a clam to R-Truth. Cena, over the top rope to Miz, waves his hand in front of his face, then goes and nails R-Truth with a Five Knuckle Shuffle. R-Truth up for the AA, but Miz slides in. A-Ri on R-Truth and Miz on Cena. The ref calls for the bell, but what's the ending?

Justin announces the ending. Miz says double DQ, so they're both losers. They can go to the back of the line because there is no number one contender.

Ding-Ding! King gets up and goes to the laptop. "You're right Miz, there is no number on contender for the WWE Title. That's because there's now two number one contenders! The WWE Championship Match at Extreme Rules will be a Triple Threat Match between Miz, R-Truth and Cena."

Cena and R-Truth are now back to healthy and attack Miz and A-Ri. Cena gets A-Ri up and nails an AA on A-Ri. Then Cena and R-Truth look at each other. Cena extends his hand. They shake, then slap each other on the back. The slaps get harder and harder between them until Cena shoves R-Truth who bounces off the ropes. R-Truth glares, then carefully leaves the ring. They both talk smack as R-Truth back up the ramp.
Rating: 4.5/5

So, Raw was interesting to say the least. It's VERY sad to see Edge go. It's the Retirement of the last true legend. I guarantee that he'll be Hall of Fame Material next year, be a shock if he isn't, to be truthful. Talking about "Truth", R-Truth actually looked pretty good last night, I thought that last match was pretty good. Sin Cara had a great match against Primo, shame about the botch at the end though, which didn't help him out that much. The APPLE thing had me laughing for a bit, and it wasn't a terrible match either. Not as good as last weeks 2 out of 3 Falls one though. Overall, a decent show.
Overall Raw Rating: 3.5/5
 
Not to mention your dedicated. You come out with a review after every RAW and PPV, along with all the other wrestling threads.
 
I've flopped this badly. Time to take action.
Not been the freest of birds as of late, but I've got time on my hands to spare now, so this is coming back as of tomorrow night's Raw.
 
Fuck it, changed my mind. If I wanna get back into this, I'm starting with Raw from 6 Days ago. Lets get into this bitch. Not a bad show though, all in all, although could've been better in areas.

Opening Promo
Jerry Lawler comes out and says the nightmare is over, and Michael Cole has finally been beaten. He says he knew Cole would try to weasel his way out of kissing his foot, but he had an ace in his boot, and introduces Bret Hart! Bret comes out and says anytime he faced Lawler, he still respected him but he can't stand Cole at all.

R-Truth comes out and interrupts, and says it is an honor, and tells Bret to ask him how many title matches he has had. Truth says none, and it is probably because he didn't care about the "Little Jimmys" and says he wants to experiment right now. He takes Bret's glasses and puts them on a fan, and says that should mean he gets a title shot next. Truth tells Bret he tried giving the people what they wanted, but he took out Morrison and Rey, and his actions might speak louder than words. He says he should take out a Hall of Famer next, and Bret tells him to take his best shot, and Truth doesn't get title shots because he is a lunatic.

Truth says he won't stand for that and goes to leave but John Cena's music cuts him off. Cena tells Truth to wait and to come back, and he says that he is just as excited to see Bret as everyone else is. He gets back to Truth and says he has been busy with Miz, but he wants to know what happened with Truth since they used to be cool. Truth says he doesn't know cool and he doesn't know him, and the conspiracy he has been talking about is about Cena. He says Cena makes sure it is all about him, and the truth is that he never liked Cena. He says Cena and Bret were both pawns for the fans, but he only cares about himself and wants his match.

Cena says it's about time someone knocks sense into him, and then they get interrupted by the anonymous GM. The email says the GM hasn't seen enough from Truth yet, so he will pay close attention to Truth's match with he and CM Punk against Rey Mysterio and John Cena. Just to make things more interesting, the special guest referee will be Bret Hart!
Rating: 3/5 - Nothing too special here, just a way to kick the show off. Loved the Main Event announcement, already knew it was going to be good before it even happened.

Big Show & Kane vs Michael McGillicutty & David Otunga - WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Otunga tries attacking Kane but gets pulled out of the ring and thrown against the apron, and takes some punches from Show. Otunga manages to dodge him and get a tag, but Show waffles McGillicutty with some open handed chops then clotheslines him out to the floor. Nexus gets Kane on the ground and they work on him in their corner and use quick tags to keep him isolated. Kane gets a boot up and finally gets the tag to Show, and he hits a corner splash and a shoulder block on McGillicutty, but Mason runs interference from outside. Punk kicks Show in the back of the head and McGillicutty and Otunga DDT him to steal the win!

Scott Stanford tries to get a word with the former champions but Show flips out on him and screams that they got robbed. Alberto comes up to them and laughs, then slaps Show in the face and runs away. The camera goes down and when it is back up Alberto is standing near the Ricardo and his car. Ricardo hit Show with it and trapped his leg under it, then backed up as Show was stuck under the car. They take off as Show is screaming on the ground and Kane screams for someone to help him. Show tries to get up and put weight on his leg but can barely move, and finally gets up and says he isn't getting on a stretcher.
Rating: 3/5 - FINALLY! New Champions and also, where I wanted those Belts to land. Shame they didn't go to Punk & Ryan the night before, but I'm glad they've left the Giants. Very disappointed in the Big Show/Del Rio angle, thought it was rather distasteful, what with Macho Man having died recently.

Jack Swagger vs Evan Bourne
Swagger kicks Bourne then slams him down and works on his left arm, then misses a Swagger Bomb in the corner. Bourne runs the ropes and gets a rollup for two, then tries a hurricanrana but Swagger holds on and hits a Gutwrench Powerbomb for the win.Swagger does his victory lap after the bell and Bourne pops up and kicks him in the mouth and runs away. Swagger flips out at ringside.
Rating: 2/5 - Nothing great, good ending though. Nice bit after the Match to cheer the crowd up.

Short (For once) Cole Promo
Cole comes out to ringside and gets met with a "You Sucked Toes" chant and he says he doesn't deserve their attention. He says it never should have been about him and he came out to apologize to Lawler, Mathews, and everyone else, and says he wants to come home. He says he wants to call RAW next to Lawler and says no more matches, and asks for them to accept his apology.
Lawler thanks him for being professional, but also thanks him for his new Christmas card, and shows a picture of Cole with Lawler's toes in his mouth. Lawler hands him Altoids and Cole says he deserved that, then Miz comes out with Alex Riley to interrupt.
Rating: 2/5 - Again, just not very entertaining. For a show that was after a pretty good PPV, this should've been a LOT better.

Miz & Riley Promo
Miz says there is one reason he didn't win the WWE Championship last night, and that is Alex Riley. He says it's not a one time thing and he made him lose the belt, then cost him after he rewon it. He shows a clip of RAW from two weeks ago, and says he got tossed through a table last night. Miz asks for one more title shot, but he wants Riley banned from ringside, and he will wait for his answer.
Miz completely blames Riley for everything and says everyone knows he should be WWE Champion, and he won't leave the ring until the GM sends a message. The alert sounds, and the championship rematch request is denied, and the Miz is done with John Cena. Miz turns to Riley and says it is all his fault, and asks for an explanation, but Riley says he isn't the one who said "I Quit." Miz smacks him and tells him to shut his mouth, and says Riley is nothing without Miz, and he is tired of having him ride his coattails.
He continues to go off and says he is sick of Riley and he is fired! Riley punches Miz and they fight all over ringside. Riley throws Miz across the announcer's table then continues to beat him up in the ring before going to the back.
Rating: 5/5 - This was AMAZING! I am a Miz fan, yes, but Alex Riley will finally get to branch out on his own! So glad this finally happened, I'm not going to lie. Would love to see him in the Main Event picture on Smackdown sooner rather than later.

Melina, Maryse & The Bella Twins vs Beth Phoenix, Eve Torres, Gail Kim & Kelly Kelly
Kelly pounces on Brie and slams her head against the mat, then Kharma comes out and stops the match. She gets to the apron and eyes all the Divas up, then gets in the ring and they surround her in the middle. She motions for them to come at her, and they all stay frozen in place, then she gets on her knees and starts sobbing and rocking back and forth. She starts talking to herself and starts saying something as we go to a break.
Rating: 0.5/5 - I'm not a fan of most Diva's matches anyway, but this was rubbish to start. It was made even worse by it's ending with Kharma.

Kofi Kingston vs Drew McIntyre
Kofi leapfrogs Drew a bunch of times then Drew clips his knee when he jumps the last time and it looks like Kofi hurt his knee. Drew uses the ringpost to apply a figure four then continues to go after his leg until Kofi leaps up and kicks him in the head. Kofi rallies with a leg sweep and a Boom Drop, then tries setting up for Trouble in Paradise but falls when his leg gives out. Drew picks him up and hits a diving powerbomb, but Kofi kicks out at two and Drew pounds on him in the corner. He pulls Kofi towards the middle, but Kofi ducks under him and hits a flipping slam for the win.
Rating: 3.5/5 - Not a bad match, although I'm disappointed with the way Drew Mac is being used here. He does deserve a lot more in his career, but it's just not working for him right now.

Main Event - CM Punk & R-Truth vs Rey Mysterio & John Cena
Punk gets attacked by Cena then tries hiding behind Bret Hart, and cheap shots Cena and tags in Truth. He takes it to Cena then tags Punk back in and he hits a side Russian leg sweep and a second rope elbow for two. Punk has been taunting Bret as well, and making comments about Canada. Punk holds Cena and won't let him tag out to Rey, and Truth tags in and hits a suplex for two. Truth gets in Bret's face about the count, then he and Punk continue to use quick tags to keep Cena isolated. Out of nowhere, Cena goes for the STF but Punk throws him off, then goes for a GTS but Cena counters into a DDT. Punk grabs his leg but Cena gets the tag and Rey unloads with kicks to Punk until Truth makes the save. Truth hits his finisher on Cena and taunts the fans until Rey hits him from behind.
Punk intercepts Rey and lifts him up for the GTS, but he hurricanranas out of it and sends Punk into the ropes. Rey connects with the 619 then Bret Hart puts Punk in the Sharpshooter as Rey hits a legdrop on the back of Punk's head. Bret makes the count then the faces celebrate as RAW goes off the air.
Rating: 4.5/5 - Great match, with a great ending. Love Bret Hart and love seeing him appear on the T.V when he does. Also proud of Punk for the Macho Man tribute with his trunks there.

Now, this was thrown together quickly, but I wanted to say that Over The Limit was a very good PPV. However, for an "aftermath" show, this just fell flat on many levels. Some of the Promo's (Cole/Lawler), just didn't seem as good as they could've been and it was an overall disappointment. Overall, I'll have to give this show a 3/5. It wasn't as good as I thought it would be WWE. I'll be tuning in next week though, to see what happens with Kharma.
 
I'm interested to see where the angles go from here. Since he's no longer a champ, Kane isn't going to be on RAW so I guess we may be seeing an injured Big Show/Del Rio feud?

There are so many heels on Raw, I've wanted to see Riley actually put on Smackdown, but I can't see Miz feuding with anyone else at this time and I don't mind that, though how can he stay on Raw? As well, I can't see Big Show being off TV for weeks b/c then who does that leave Del Rio with?

Only thing I could see happening is a new face or two debuts, someone like Sheffield. Btw, when is JoMo due back? Does anyone even mind that he's gone?

Anyway, I'm kind of interested in RAW from a talent stand point. They have so many heels, I'd like to just see them go on a killing spree lol. How the hell can Cena, Rey, Kofi, and Evan Bourne defend Raw against Punk/Nexus, Del Rio, Miz, Ziggler, McIntyre, Swagger?

I think this weeks RAW is going to be a bit different then lasts. I'd expect some surprises or new things, shame Kharma had to go and get pregnant, what timing.
That had to piss Vince off so much.

It's bizarre how easy it is for people to win the tag titles now a days. It's like WWE has to put them on every team that debuts. Now a days, you see teams like 3D, Road Warriors, Nasty Boys(yes, Knobs is a huge cunt,) New Age Outlaws, Outsiders, Hart Foundation etc those guys all hung out, traveled together and would be around for shoot interviews after their WWE careers were over. I don't think we'll be seeing that in the future. I don't think we'll ever see or care to see the relationship or stories of guys like McGillicutty/Otunga or even Santino/Kozlov. I think we've seen the last of the legendary tag teams and that's kind of a bummer. Every tag team now is make shift.
Even in TNA, Beer Money is a good/solid brotherly team, but America's Most Wanted was a good team as well. If Roode goes solo and AMW reunites, which team is remembered? And how would that work as far as TNA HOF goes?

Anyway, I'm interested to see whats instore on RAW. And can we please get Riley and Dibiase on Smackdown CONSISTENTLY!

Good review J4L.
 
Loved this weeks show, including the beginning with the Tough Enough overlap into it as well. Right, lets get straight into this one.

Raw Opener
We start out this week with the Tough Enough Finale and both guys get to give their final speeches and Vince and Stone Cold get into it a bit and Austin says it's his show and he is gonna pick the winner. Vince tells him there should be a drumroll and Austin gets it then announces the winner as... Andy! Austin shakes Luke's hand then takes his belt and asks Vince to talk to his newest employee. Vince slaps him in the face, then Austin helps him up and congratulates him, then stuns him out of the ring!

Austin tells him no hard feelings when he gets up then has a beer bash with Vince, but it is quickly interrupted by Truth. Truth comes out dressed like a Revolutionary singing about Lil Jimmy marching home again, and he says the RAW GM told him to apologize, and Vince shows him a video of why he needs to apologize. Truth says he is sorry to everyone, and Austin says he should be sorry about dressing like a jackass. Truth says he did his homework and he is in Richmond, the Confederate Capital, and he is surrounded by a bunch of rednecks, but Austin asks him what that has to do with today.

Truth says they had a good idea when they suceeded, and he is suceeding from the WWE! He says he will keep his title shot, but he doesn't want anything else. Vince calls him "R" and makes fun of his 'first name' and tells him to visit him during his office hours. Truth starts spelling out conspiracy, then gets interrupted by the Miz. He says Truth has the Chairman out in the ring, and he wants to talk about a made up conspiracy? Miz said he should still be champion but Alex Riley got in his way. Riley comes out and says he deserves another beatdown, and then John Cena comes out.

Cena says Austin is almost out of beer, and Miz already got a rematch so he needs to get over himself. He tells Riley that he doesn't like or trust him, but he likes how he has been treating Miz lately. Cena tells Truth to cut the act and take off the costume, because he already apologized and got his title match. A GM email comes in and Cole gets up to read it, but Vince tells him to shut up and he will take care of it. Vince makes a tag team match between Truth and Miz against Cena and Riley, and the guest ref is Austin!
Rating: 5/5 - Absolutely brilliant promo here, especially with the end of Tough Enough, going straight into the beginning of Raw. R-Truth just gets better and better as the weeks go on. Love Riley as a face, even though he said one line and yes, Cena made me laugh when he said Truth was "out of his mind". Great start to it.

Santino Marella vs Michael McGillicutty
Santino hits an atomic drop then clotheslines McGillicutty outside and starts playing the trumpet. Santino knees him, but takes a knee and leapfrogs McGillicutty and teases the Cobra. McGillicutty gains control and works on Santino in the corner then Santino avoids a corner splash and unloads with left hands and hits a diving headbutt. Otunga pulls McGillicutty outside and Kozlov knocks him out and McGillicutty rolls back inside and takes the Cobra by Santino.
Rating: 3/5 - Great starter match, very well worked by both men. Nice and enjoyable with Santino taking the win and having a nice little celebration after it.

Beth Phoenix & Kelly Kelly vs The Bella Twins
Kelly walks the ropes and hits a springboard armdrag on Brie, but Brie drops a knee on her back and and tries to stretch Kelly. Kelly hip tosses Brie and tags Beth, and she knocks down Brie while Kelly bulldogs Nikki out of the ring. Beth hits the Glam Slam and makes the cover for the win.
Rating: 2.5/5 - Not a terrible match from the Diva's, but I love Phoenix.

CM Punk w/Mason Ryan vs Rey Mysterio
Punk and Rey trade off on headlocks and armlocks until Rey leapfrogs Punk and kicks him outside. The ref tells Mason to stay away, and Rey gets back inside and gets kicked in the head twice and eats a knee, but Rey gets out of the GTS by holding the ropes. He leaps up top by Punk kicks him down and gets a near fall, then starts to work on Rey again and hits a side suplex. He keeps him down by working on the ribs, but Rey finally knocks him down off the top turnbuckle and dives on him, then hits a springboard dive. Punk catches Rey with a powerslam, then lowers his kneepad, but Rey ducks it and sets up the 619. Mason gets on the apron, but Rey jumps and kicks him while simultaneously hitting Punk with a tornado DDT, then hits Punk with a splash for the win.
Rating: 3.5/5 - Pretty good match yet again, I was expecting Punk to win, not too sure why though with recent events.

Alberto Del Rio Promo
Alberto Del Rio comes out and says he hates slander, and that the WWE Universe has been calling him a hit and run coward, but the footage proves it was an accident. He wants the Big Show to come out so he can apologize to him, but he doesn't come out and Alberto asks if he is afraid of him. He says his car is all the way back near the ramp, and asks him to come out, but instead we get Ricardo in a costume on crutches. Alberto says the crutches are a bit much, and it is Show's way of not paying for the damage to the car. "Ricard-show" just keeps grunting and raising his arm and Alberto says it is settled. He tells Show not to make enemies with him, because bad things will happen to him.
Rating: 3/5 - Not too funny actually, pretty overdone with the fat and slow thing.

Champion vs Champion Match - Zack Ryder (WWE Internet Champion) vs Kofi Kingston (US Champion)
Zack hits a shoulder block and pumps it up but eats a dropkick then asks Kofi if he is serious. He smacks Kofi then avoids a corner splash and starts violently kicking Kofi in the head, but Kofi comes back on offense with kicks of his own. He hits a Boom Drop then tries Trouble in Paradise but Zack ducks under the ropes. Kofi pulls him back in and avoids a kick by Ryder, and hits Trouble in Paradise for the win.
Rating: 3/5/B] - Not a bad match, well worked.

Jack Swagger vs Booker T
Jack fights Booker back then clotheslines him outside and rams him into the barricade, and works on him in the corner, but Booker hits him with a spin kick and slaps the heck out of Jack. Booker misses and axe kick, then avoids Jack, and hits him with a heel kick that sends him outside. Jack says he doesn't need this, and walks away as the ref counts to ten.

Evan Bourne comes out and and shoves Jack, then runs into the ring with Jack giving chase. Booker hits him with a kick and Bourne hits the Air Bourne Shooting Star Press, then they both do Spinaroonies and celebrate in the ring.
Rating 3.5/5 - As much as it had a pretty terrible ending, it was all around enjoyable and very nice to see Booker in the Ring, with Bourne at the end.

The Miz & R-Truth vs John Cena & Alex Riley w/Special Guest Referee Steve Austin
Truth takes it to Riley but he fights back and tags in Cena, and Truth ducks out and tags in Miz. Cena bulldogs Miz and tries to let Riley get at him, but Miz runs around the ring, then clotheslines Riley as we go to a commercial. When we return, Miz has Riley in a headlock then plants him with a DDT and kicks him when he tries to tag Cena. Austin backs Miz out of the corner and they start yelling at each other, and Miz tags Truth who dives on Riley to stop him tagging Cena. He puts Riley in a rear choke, then rushes him in the corner and kicks him in the head. Truth bodyslams him and goes for a middle rope splash but Riley moves and gets the tag.

Cena hits a bulldog and Five Knuckle Shuffle on Miz then goes for the AA, but Truth comes in to break it up. Cena knocks him out of the ring and puts Miz in the STF, but he makes it to the ropes to break the hold. Truth tries using a chair, but Cena ducks him and dropkicks it into Truth's chest. Riley gets in and fakes hitting Cena with his briefcase, but nails Miz with it instead. Austin turns around and stuns Miz, then Cena hits him with the AA to take the win. After the match Austin has some beers with Riley and Cena as Cole complains about the ref being biased. Riley leaves and Cena and Austin have a beer on the ropes when we get a GM email.

It says the ref overstepped his boundaries, so Cena and Riley are disqualified, and Truth and Miz are the winners! Another email comes in and it says to make sure Austin doesn't do anything regrettable, he will be the guest GM next week! Austin grabs Cole and throws him in the ring and pours beer on him, then hits him with a Stunner! Cena hits him with the AA then Austin tells Cole that he will see him next week, and continues his beer bash as RAW goes off the air!
Rating: 5/5 - For once, an ending as great as the start. The best way to end an episode of Raw, with a great one "Hopefully", to look forward to next week.

Overall Raw Rating: 4/5
 
You're awesome.

I mean you actually bother to take time and do a detailed review like this!

And your ratings, I agree with them all.

Good job Bro :)
 
I agree, I was hoping you'd put up a review this week because tbh I like reading 'em. My only criticism is I fell you're sometimes too lenient. Other than that it's still a good read.
 
Yeah, I'm nice to them sometimes.
But this weeks Raw was actually THAT good in my eyes.
In other people's it may not be, but it's just an opinion.
 
I also thought it lacked in some areas... The Vince/SCSA everyone else segment started awesomely, but I felt went on too long. Also, I thought Ryder didn't do as well of a job in ring as he usually does (and i'm a broski) and the ADR promo was awful... I do like the rest of your ratings, though... good job!
 
So, Raw last night was a 3-Hour Special, with the "All-Stars" Theme. Did it manage to held itself up the whole way? Or did it fall flat? Let's find out.

Opening Promo
The Miz comes out and says since RAW is the flagship show of the WWE, the Miz is the all time WWE All Star, and you are stupid if you don't know that. He calls Alex Riley stupid and says he will teach him a lesson at Capitol Punishment, and he will teach him one now by calling out Stone Cold Steve Austin. He says all of the former stars are jealous of Miz's success and he wants an apology now. Stone Cold comes out to the ring and says he let Miz talk and he is impressed, but he thinks Alex Riley could be an even bigger star than Miz will be. He tells Miz to shut up and informs him that he and Riley will be in Piper's Pit tonight!

Alberto Del Rio comes out and talks about his destiny, but Austin stops him and says he isn't a mind reader but he smells an ass whoopin coming up. He asks Alberto if he is feeling good about injuring Big Show, and says someone has been waiting to get his hands on him, and brings out Kane for the first match.
Rating: 2.5/5 - Nothing too special, just a way to introduce Stone Cold's role into the show & a way to set up our first match of the evening.

Alberto Del Rio vs Kane
Alberto clubs Kane in the back a few times but Kane comes back with a side slam then goes up top. Alberto ducks him then kicks him a few times and applies the Cross Armbreaker, but Kane is able to reach the ropes. Alberto keeps the hold on past the five count, and the ref disqualifies him, then he keeps it on until Big Show makes the save. He runs out (seriously Big Show ran) and starts pounding on Ricardo while Alberto runs away. Kane tries to get him to stop and finally does by choking him from behind. Austin comes out and says Alberto can still here him and he might as well run to Capitol Punishment because he is now in a match with Big Show! Kane and Show leave together while trainers check on Ricardo, who is knocked out cold.
Rating: 2.5/5 - Also nothing special, the match wasn't great, but was saved by Big Show turning up at the end. Looking forward to that match at C.P

Cody Rhodes, Ted Dibiase & Wade Barrett vs Ezekiel Jackson, Daniel Bryan & Sin Cara
Cara kicks Cody and hits a second rope elbow then tags in Bryan, but Ted quickly distracts him allowing Cody to gain control. He tags Ted in who knocks Bryan down, then Wade, who hits a clothesline for two. Wade kicks Bryan then slams him down and gets in Zeke's face. He shoves Cara off the apron, but Bryan gets a tag behind him and Zeke comes in and cleans house. He slams Wade down and picks him up for the Torture Rack but Cody and Ted come in and kick him to break the hold. Zeke knocks them out of the ring and throws Bryan on them, then makes the tag to Sin Cara. He goes up top and hits a cross body block on Wade for the win.
Rating: 3/5 - This just seemed thrown together at the last minute for filler, but it surprisingly worked allright. They could stop with that "Sin Cara" lighting though. It works in 1 on 1 matches, but not 6-Man Tags.

R-Truth & Hornswoggle Promo
Hornswoggle is shooting a t-shirt gun into the crowd when R-Truth comes out and says that looks like fun. He asks Hornswoggle if he can try that, and tells him not to be scared because he is a good Truth. He will beat John Cena on Sunday to become champion, and Cena won't stop him and neither will Hornswoggle. Truth goes towards Hornswoggle and gets shot in the stomach with a t-shirt, and gets pissed off and tries to choke him. He stops and says he is sorry and tries to apologize, then kicks him right in the head and stares into the crowd. Austin interrupts on the Titantron and says before he gets to Cena, he is gonna come get some of this guy... and it's the returning John Morrison! Truth kicks Hornswoggle again and leaves as Lawler checks on Hornswoggle in the ring.
Rating: 1.5/5 - Yay! This was exciting.....not. R-Truth is great, but it was a terrible situation for a Promo.

Sheamus vs Santino Marella
Sheamus pounds on Santino then goes to the apron and kicks Santino in the chest. He continues by hitting a clothesline and some blows to the back, but Santino psyches up after a turnbuckle shot and hits Sheamus back. He goes for the Cobra, but Sheamus kicks out of it and hits a Brogue Kick to knock him down. Sheamus finishes the match by putting Santino in a Texas Clover Leaf and he gets him to tap out.
Rating: 2/5 - When I saw this match was happening, I just thought, "This seems like WWE just want to give us matches that have happened before." I was kind of right, Truth vs Morrison, Sheamus vs Santino, CM Punk vs Cena, we've seen them all.

Orton/Christian Promo
Randy Orton comes out and says he knows he is getting a shot at Christian on Sunday, but he is not satisfied because he knows Christian is in the building tonight. He tells him not to worry because all he wants to do is talk, but Christian doesn't come out, and Orton says he caught him, because he can't wait to get his hands on him. Orton says he better not have to go look for him in the back, but Christian comes up on the Titantron instead. He says Orton has had his career handed to him and he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He on the other hand, worked for everything he has and Orton doesn't know anything about that.

He says he won't go out to the ring because he doesn't care what the fans want, then Orton says it's too bad Edge wasn't there because he could've carried him one more time. Christian gets pissed off and says fine and heads to the ring, then stops on the ramp and rethinks it. Security runs out to stop Orton and he tries to fight through them while a GM email is sent in. It says Orton is not allowed to compete because he has a concussion, and he should wait to get Christian on Sunday. He tries to ignore it, but stops after the GM says if he doesn't listen he will be stripped of the title. He finally leaves while Christian hides behind security, and looks up and sees Austin on the Titantron again. He tells him that he isn't getting out of it so easily, and he will face Rey Mysterio next!
Rating: 3/5 - Rather surprisingly enjoyable promo here, also made me look forward to the next match.

Christian vs Rey Mysterio
Rey kicks Christian then gets thrown into the corner but leapfrogs Christian and catches him with a headscissors. Rey goes towards him but gets knocked down and bodyslammed, and goes for a defensive springboard move but gets shoved outside instead. Back in the ring, Christian gets Rey in a headlock but Rey gets out, and Christian sends him into the corner and chokes him with his knee on the back of Rey's head. The ref DQ's him for not breaking the five count (didn't i see this ending about an hour ago?) and Christian gets pissed and bodyslams Rey in the corner.

He attempts a top rope move but Rey knocks him down and tries to fight him off until CM Punk runs out and interferes. Rey knocks Punk off the apron and tries to get a 619 on Christian, but Mason catches him and slams his back into the ringpost. He hits a backbreaker then throws Rey in the ring, and Christian adds to the beating by hitting him with the Killswitch. Nexus and Christian leave and go to the back while Rey is laying in the ring.
Rating: 3/5 - It doesn't get anymore of a rating for 2 reasons. 1) The exact same ending as the Del Rio Match & 2) The Nexus interfering.

SCSA/Ziggler/Vickie Backstage
Vickie goes up to Stone Cold into the back and screams EXCUSE ME in his ear while he is on the phone. She asks for a US Championship match for Dolph, and he says he can have it if Dolph drops Vickie as his manager. Austin tells him he had Ted DiBiase as a manager and he was the Ringmaster, but eventually he broke out on his own and that is what Dolph needs to do too. He asks Dolph if he really wants the match and Dolph says yes, and Vickie starts flipping out about the situation. Austin smiles and says he was having a little fun with them because he already made the match earlier today, and pats Dolph on the back and leaves. Vickie clenches her teeth and gets madder and swats Dolph away as he tries to apologize to her.
Rating: 2.5/5 - Slightly humorous, but that's about it.

R-Truth vs JoMo
Truth waits for Morrison to come out, and his music plays twice, but he never comes out. Truth grabs a mic and asks where he is, and says he looked bad on the Titantron, so he better get out there and fight him. Truth says he will go find Morrison if he wants to run his mouth, and goes to the back to look for him. They show Truth backstage looking for him and they find him being tending to by referees. Truth starts talking to him and asks what happened, then says he got got by the future WWE Champion. He walks away and takes a stage case and runs it right into Morrison's head, and screams "take that little Jimmy" as referees call the paramedics.
Rating: 3/5 - Smart, and it makes Truth look like one hell of a motherfucker. You cannot deny that the WWE have made him look great recently.

Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger vs Evan Bourne & Kofi Kingston
Dolph and Kofi run the ropes and Kofi leapfrogs him and knocks him down, but Dolph quickly tags to Swagger. Jack puts Kofi in a front facelock and hits a belly to belly release suplex but only gets a two count. He goes for a Swagger Bomb but Kofi gets the knees up and tags to Bourne and chaos ensues. Dolph tries to help out but gets knocked outside and Kofi hits Trouble In Paradise from the corner. Bourne goes up top and hits the Shooting Star Press and gets the cover on Swagger.
Rating: 2.5/5 - Nothing is exciting me so far, and this didn't really help.

Piper's Pit W/Special Guests The Miz & Alex Riley
Piper comes out and says it was 25 years ago in this very spot that he dropped Mr T. on like a bad habit at Wrestlemania 2. Miz comes out and says he can't wait for them to tear this building down and everyone says he is a modern day Piper. Piper says he is a wannabe and Miz says he actually won the WWE Championship, and he won the Wrestlemania main event. Miz comes back and says his episodes of The Real World was more entertaining than anything in They Live, so he can chew some gum and stick it. Piper says he never saw the Real World because he was living in it, and he wants to talk about the future and brings out Riley.

Riley says he was never Miz's friend, and Miz used him to keep the championship as long as he did. Miz says he dropped Riley, not the other way around and he would put money on him beating Riley on Sunday. Riley says that won't happen, and he is so sure that he thinks Piper can beat Miz right now. Miz says he'll wear his suit and put up $1,000 to make it happen, and Piper looks like needs Riley to talk him into it. He says they should make it $5,000 and Stone Cold comes on the Titantron and makes it official, with Riley as the Special Guest Referee!
Rating: 3.5/5- Ooo, exciting! Actually, this got me interested, even though I didn't think Piper would wrestle a match, but the money stipulation made me scoff, because I know for a fact, you won't see money change hands.

The Miz vs Roddy Piper
Miz and Piper brawl for a bit in the corner until Riley breaks it up, and then Miz shoves Riley for the interference. Riley and Miz starts punching each other, and Piper sneaks up and rolls up Miz to steal the win. After the bell, Miz tries to retaliate but gets thrown outside instead. Riley and Piper celebrate together in the ring while Miz kicks the barricade and makes his way backstage.
Rating: 2/5 - Exciting.

7 on 7 Divas Tag Team Match
Kelly starts against Brie, but Brie tags out to Rosa after making fun of Kelly. Kelly punches her then slams her head in the corner and gives her a stinkface. She goes for a cover but it gets broken up and all the divas brawl around the ring. The ring clears and Kelly hits the K2 on Rosa for the win.
Rating: N/A - Was this even a match? Pathetic.

Stone Cold Ends His Night As GM
Stone Cold rides his ATV down to the ring and thanks Long Island for a good show and says he wants to make his last announcement. He gets interrupted by the RAW GM computer and Cole looks scared to answer it, and reluctantly goes to the podium. Austin says he is getting sick of the anonymous stuff, and Cole says the email says the GM wanted to let everyone know that he would be back next week.

Austin says that is fine, but he is still the GM now, and he is letting next week's show be in the hands of the viewers and audience. The GM email keeps going off and Austin tells him to cut it out, but Cole has no control over the podium and it goes off repeatedly and Austin chases him into the crowd. He unplugs the computer and knocks over the podium, then takes the laptop and pours beers all over it! He runs it over with his quad for good measure, then runs back to the ring and finishes his night with a beer bash and thanks the crowd for a great night.
Rating: 3.5/5 - Well, after watching most of this 3-Hour Raw, I'm not exactly looking forward to next weeks one, however, it could be a lot more interesting what with "Viewers Choice", could be some decent matches? I hope too much, so I doubt it.

John Cena vs CM Punk
Punk gets Cena with a headlock takeover then tries to get the GTS off the ropes but Cena counters into an AA attempt than Punk slides out of. Punk drops him with punches then suplexes him on the ropes and kicks him out to ringside as we go to a commercial. When we get back, Punk has Cena in an abdominal stretch and Cena starts to fade, but is able to break the hold and roll outside. Punk dives outside and hits Cena, then goes up to the top rope and drops him again and rolls him into the ring.

He applies a legscissors then pulls back on Cena's neck, but Cena reverses it into a STF and Punk grabs the ropes. Punk keeps Cena down and works on him in the corner, then irish whips him across the ring and gets another two count. Punk uses the ropes and jumps on Cena, then hits a high knee lift in the corner, but Cena holds on and throws Punk across the ring during a bulldog attempt. Cena tries to use the ropes but Punk sees it coming and knocks him out of the ring and tells the ref to start counting.

Cena gets in at 7 and Punk goes right back to kicking Cena and tries to springboard using the ropes but Cena moves an Punk lands on his elbow. Cena makes a comeback and hits a sitout slam but Truth interrupts the match and runs through the crowd and asks a little kid for his Cena hat. He says he will give the kid a sip of water if he gives it to him and takes the hat. Cena is trying to tell Truth to get away from the fan, and has his back turned to Punk. Punk uses the distraction to lift Cena and he hits the GTS to win.

Truth goes to the ring and hits Cena with the water bottle then hits with the rfqrq. He goes and grabs the title from ringside and a mic, and tells an unconscious Cena that will beat him for the championship, and that's the truth. Truth leaves with the title on his arm and takes it up the ramp and asks if they like what they see.
Rating: 4.5/5 - I actually loved this. Cena & Punk always put on great matches in my eyes & even though I was disappointed when they didn't start a feud, this cheered me up. I wondered if that kid got his Hat back, but Truth looked good towards the end, making a Cena win on Sunday ever more obvious.

Overall, I really didn't like this show. Most of the matches were very obviously just thrown together, because this show was planned to originally be the draft. I though that Stone Cold looked allright on the night, along with Miz, Truth & Riley. I'd give the show a 3/5 for the whole night, which is 1 per hour really. Cross my fingers that next weeks Raw is a LOT better, if it isn't, then I'm going to find it difficult to keep interested.

Side note: The Pay-Per-View this Sunday, "Capitol Punishment", anyone who's thinking of watching it, don't bother. Have you SEEN the line-up? It's just matches of no particular interest. Re-hashing the Punk/Mysterio feud, ANOTHER Christian/Orton match along with Del Rio/Big Show, Riley/Miz. There's around (in my eyes), 2 good matches, with Cena/Truth & Riley/Miz. The others ain't that interesting right now.
 
[REP]

Best part of the show was Austin. I was really liking the beginning of the show until I found out Alberto and Kane were going to wrestle. Kane has lost all the mystique he ever had. Also, I'm a supporter of Riley but the way he talks and always dressing in a suit doesn't seem like a good face to me. Obviously he's a guy better suited to be a heel, but I guess we'll see what happens. I hate using guys as heels just b/c they're good at it because then most of the time they can't do anything worthwhile, especially in the WWE. Fans don't want to see the heel Zack Rhyder, that's not who they're chanting for, they want the face/tweener they been seeing on YT who they can get behind. Apparently, we won't be seeing either regularly on RAW.

Anyway, I feel the same as you J4L. I'd like RAW to be better as a whole, b/c it seems like it just has to change a few things and become more spontaneous where anything can happen, but it's obviously not the direction WWE is going. Oh, I did like the Capitol Punishment sketch with Rhodes and Sheamus as well.

I also liked the one where someone asks a question about Cena, Orton and Capitol Punishment and Obama says "I think that's what the fans want." Now that's the troof!
 
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