Official Raw/Smackdown Aftermath, Ratings and Review Thread

[Rock Bottom]

I thought it was a good show. Some decent wrestling and a good build towards the PPV. However one thing which I though was one of the worst moments on Raw for quite sometime was seeing Jack Swagger come out to be John Cena's mystery opponent. Really? Thats the best that they could do! Was expecting an actual surprise.

7 out of 10

 

[WWEIsLife2]

I really enjoyed RAW tonight with a whie hot crowd in Portland as well.

Bret Hart showing up is never a bad thing and it was cool seeing him Ref the Main Event.

Miz & A-Ri are splitsville. Maybe Alex will get a push on Smackdown after beating down Miz tonight.

Nexus upsetting Kane/Big Show for the Tag Titles was a surprise.

Not sure what to make of the whole Kharma thing. Will have to see where that goes.

Awesome Tribute to Macho Man,really good stuff there. I was digging CM Punk's Savage like tights.

Cole seemed a little reserved tonight finally although still got a little annoying during the ME.

Also good to see Evan Bourne and Drew Mcintyre get Matches on RAW too.

 

[X]

[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif][FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]WWE RAW 5/23/11[/FONT]
[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]May 23rd, 2011[/FONT]
[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]Rose Garden Arena, Portland, Oregon[/FONT]
[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]Attendance: ???[/FONT]
[/FONT]​

[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]We're less than 24 hours removed from the Over the Limit PPV as RAW continue's it's tour of the Northwest, stopping in Portland tonight. Tonight's show is expected to also be in part a tribute to the late Macho Man Randy Savage, so it should be an interesting evening in the WWE. We open the show with the same "Rest in Peace" graphic that they displayed before last night's PPV before cutting into the usual intro package.[/FONT]


[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]Your hosts are Josh Matthews, Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler[/FONT]


[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]We open the show officially with Jerry Lawler making his way out to the ring. He grabs a mic and celebrates his defeat of Michael Cole at last night's PPV. King says he knew Cole would try to weasel out of the stipulation of the match, but he had an ace up his sleeve. Or rather, a "Hart". Chuckle chuckle. Bret Hart's music hits and the Hall of Famer comes down to the ring and joins Jerry. King joins Josh at the commentary table while Bret says it was his pleasure to make sure that Michael Cole suffered the agony of "de-feet". Suddenly R-Truth's "music" hits (which is still just a clip of him saying his catch phrase and no actual music) and he makes his way down to the ring with a mic in his hand to some big boos. Truth complains about never getting a title shot like Bret got and then takes his sunglasses and goes to ringside to give it to a fat kid at ringside. He snatches the glasses off his head moments later though and the look on the kid's face is priceless. Truth says maybe he needs to beat up a Hall of Famer to get noticed, and Bret just tells him to bring it on. Truth tries to walk off but John Cena's music hits and the WWE champion makes his way out to the ring, walking gingerly after the punishment he took the night before. Cena exchanges pleasantries with Bret and then turns his attention to Truth, asking him when exactly he went insane. Truth cracks on Cena's acting career, shouting the "I want my son back!" line from the Legendary trailer. Truth blames Cena and Bret for his troubles, calling them propaganda tools in the conspiracy against him. Suddenly the lights flicker and the RAW GM has sent an e-mail. Josh Matthews reads it and announces that tonight's main event will be R-Truth and CM Punk against John Cena and Rey Mysterio with Bret Hart as the special guest referee. Decent opening segment, Truth's heel turn continues to be one of the more interesting things in the company right now and it appears like he may be Cena's next title challenger. [/FONT]


[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]Backstage Kane and Big Show are hanging out on Alberto Del Rio's car, which looks like one of those racecar beds kids have in comparison to how big they both are. Ricardo Rodriguez runs up to get them off but gets shoved down, so Del Rio walks up and says a whole lot of stuff in Spanish that apparently is enough to make them get up and leave. Okay then. [/FONT]


[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]WWE Tag Team Title Match[/FONT]
[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]Big Show/Kane [/FONT]© [FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]vs. David Otunga/Michael McGillicutty[/FONT]

[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]CM Punk joins the commentary team for this match much to my delight. As usual, he's better than both Josh and King at this point. Kane and Otunga start us off with Kane dominating. Big Show tags in and does the same to McGillicutty, making them both look like total jobbers (not that I'm complaining). Nexus looks to regroup outside the ring as we cut to commercial. When we return Otunga is choking Kane in his corner with the heel of his boot. Nexus isolates Kane in their corner for a bit, trading quick tags as he plays the role of your sadomasochistic babyface in peril. Kane hits a big boot and gets the hot tag to Big Show, who quickly cleans house on Nexus. Mason Ryan tries to get involved but gets clotheslined out which distracts the ref long enough for Punk to come up and kick Show in the back of the head, and Otunga and McGillicutty give him a sloppy double DDT, giving them the cheap win and the titles at 5:25 (shown). Oh joy, more of the Nexus jobbers hold tag team gold again. Is WWE creative really so out of ideas for Kane and Show that they resort to booking them in identical feuds one after the other against ex-Nexus members? We just saw this feud on Smackdown, and it sucked. As did this match. *[/FONT]


[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]Backstage Scott Stanford asks Show if he's frustrated and Show flips the hell out on him before Alberto Del Rio walks up and slaps him in the face. Show chases after him and the camera conveniently takes a few moments to catch up as we see Show's leg underneath Del Rio's car when the camera man turns the corner. Oh, fun, another "hit by a car" angle. Gotta have one of those atleast once a year. After what seems like an eternity of Big Show writhing on the ground, groaning like a dying cow we finally cut to commercial. When we return the camera is STILL on Show as he struggles to get to his feet and eventually does despite clearly being injured. [/FONT]


[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]Jack Swagger vs. Evan Bourne[/FONT]

[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]Well would you look at the time, it's half past Evan Bourne jobbing time again. Atleast he gets an entrance this week. Hurricanrana from Bourne to start but Swagger responds with a boot to the face. Swagger works an armbar and Josh Matthews stupidly asks King how many matches he's had in his career, like that's even a question he could possibly answer correctly. Bourne tries a jumping kick but Swagger grabs his ankle and tries for the ankle lock. Bourne fights it off and tries another hurricanrana, but Swagger counters with a huge gut-wrench suplex and that's enough to put Evan away at 2:11. After the match Bourne gets a measure of revenge with a spinning heel kick on Swagger as he celebrates and then takes runs off. Not bad for a squash match, but if this was supposed to be the start of a Swagger/Bourne feud, having Swagger dispose of Bourne like he's a total jobber isn't the way to go about that. [/FONT][FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]½*[/FONT]


[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]Backstage a dejected Michael Cole is walking around. He offers a handshake to Eve, and she offers her foot instead for him to kiss presumably as we cut to commercial. When we return Cole makes his way out to the ring to a chorus of boos. Cole says he doesn't deserve the fans attention and then he apologizes to Jerry, Josh, Justin Roberts, time-keeper Mark Yeaton, and the fans themselves. The fans aren't buying any of it though of course because Cole has been the most over-the-top uber heel for the last 6 months and a quick apology isn't going to make them forget that. It's clear they're trying to press the "reset" button on Cole, throw out his heel character and bring him back to the table as the play-by-play man. King says he's glad Cole is apologizing and then rubs in last night's loss by putting up a still of King's foot in Cole's mouth. King gives him a box of Altoids and Cole says he deserves that as King allows him to re-join the commentary table. I've never been a Cole fan, but him as the neutral play-by-play man is so much more tolerable than over the top heel Cole at the booth, burying the talent in the ring constantly.


The Miz's music hits and the former champion comes out to the ring next with Alex Riley at his side. Miz says the only reason he didn't win the title last night was because of Riley. He replays the mistakes that Riley has made over the last few weeks and then turns his attention to the anonymous Raw general manager, asking for a one on one title match against John Cena with Alex Riley banned from ringside. The GM responds with an e-mail denying Miz another title shot and Miz again blames it all on Riley. Riley says he wasn't the one who said "I Quit" last night and The Miz flips out and fires him. He shoves Riley and Riley attacks The Miz to a nice pop, ripping off his shirt and throwing him around the ringside area. A "Riley!" chant breaks out as he continues to attack Miz back inside the ring, screaming at him the entire time before storming off and leaving Miz laying in the ring. This worked well in getting Riley over as a potential face (surprisingly), but it also made The Miz generally look like shit. Losing to Cena is one thing, but getting totally punked out by a rookie like Alex Riley is another. Luckily Miz is over enough and talented enough that this shouldn't be much of a setback for him though.


Kelly Kelly/Beth Phoenix/Eve Torres/Gail Kim vs. Maryse/Melina/Brie Bella/Nikki Bella[/FONT]

[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]Before the match starts Cole puts over the Divas like they're the greatest thing he's ever had the honor of calling in a wrestling ring to try and press the reset button on his constant burial of the division on commentary over the last few months. Before the match can really even get started though Kharma's music hits and she makes her way down to the ring. She gets into the center of the ring and falls on her knees and begins...crying? Huh? We cut to commercial with her crying and when we return the match is over apparently. Interesting development in the Kharma angle. No match rating obviously. [N/R][/FONT]


[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]Kofi Kingston vs. Drew McIntyre[/FONT]

[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]Drew is back on RAW and has pyro again, so I guess they're going to try pushing him again. Probably helps that Bret Hart was talking him up on Twitter and is in the building tonight. Fast pace to start as Kofi does a nice leap-frog before apparently botching the second leapfrog, though that may have been planned as Drew goes right to work on Kofi's leg afterwards. He wrenches away on Kofi's leg until Kingston fights him off and hits a russian legsweep, favoring his leg in the process. Boom Drop from Kofi and he looks to set up for the Trouble in Paradise, but his leg gives out from under him as he tries to perform the move and Drew covers him for a two count. Running powerbomb from Drew but again Kofi kicks out. Kofi gives him his signature arm-trapped somersault STO and pins Drew clean at [/FONT]4:25[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]. Well that was an odd ending. They focused on the limb-work with Kofi to apparently set up a win for Drew in his official RAW return, but then just had him lose clean in minutes anyways. Decent enough while it lasted, questionable booking aside. *[/FONT][FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]¾[/FONT]

[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]Backstage Dolph Ziggler watches on. It's worth noting he's dyed his hair back bleach blonde again, thank God. [/FONT]


[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]The King says he wonders what it would be like if the President were involved in the PPV next month, and they do the whole dream segment seque into the same corny over-edited video package of Obama at a press conference clipped in with actors asking WWE-related question. [/FONT]


[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]The New Nexus celebrate backstage with CM Punk and their new tag team titles as Punk tells them to watch him wrestle next. [/FONT]


[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]After the commercial break Alberto Del Rio fawns worry and panic about Big Show getting hit by a car earlier in the night with Scott Stanford. He blames it on Ricardo and storms off.[/FONT]


[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]Back at ringside Josh, King, and Michael hype the main event and then finally mention the passing of Macho Man Randy Savage this past week. King puts him over and we cut into a nicely put together video package on Randy's life and career, set to Coldplay's "The Scientist", which happens to be one of my all time favorite songs. Touching video package. I highly recommend checking out the tribute video that Diamond Dallas Page posted to his YouTube channel as well while you're at it. After the video airs the crowd gives a huge standing ovation and a big several Macho Man chants break out as we cut to commercial. You know I was expecting more than just one video package, but atleast it was a well done video package. We're going to miss the hell out of you Randy, we truly are.[/FONT]


[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]John Cena/Rey Mysterio vs. R-Truth/CM Punk[/FONT]

[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]Bret Hart is YOUR special guest referee for the match. Cole agrees with Truth's attitude change and so does Josh, so maybe Cole isn't going to be fully turning face after all. Punk comes out in a pair of old-school Macho Man trunks in a sign of respect to the fallen legend, making me love him even more. The faces dominate in the opening minute of the match as the heels try to re-group on the outside while we cut to commercial. When we return Punk is laying in elbows on Cena in the corner. Cena responds with some right hands and Punk tries to hide behind Bret Hart in classic heel fashion. Truth tags in and rocks Cena with a big right hand as the dueling Cena chants start up in the crowd already. Punk beats down on Cena for a bit until John gets the hog tag to Rey, who explodes on Punk with a hurricanrana and a stiff kick for a two count. Rey tries for the 619 on Truth but Punk grabs him and tries for the GTS only for Rey to counter out and nail Punk with the 619 and Punk turns around to meet a right hand from Bret Hart, who then puts Punk into the Sharpshooter. Rey hits a springboard legdrop and that finishes Punk off at 6:51 (shown). After the match all the babyfaces celebrate together while Cole flips out about Hart's actions. That was a strange ending since Punk didn't attack Bret or anything, he just hid behind him. I guess that was enough reasoning for Bret to attack him though. Decent main event, but too short and the ending was a bit silly. [/FONT][FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]**[/FONT]

[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]Bottom Line: Pretty weak show after a lackluster PPV event the night before. The Macho Man tribute video was nice and worth checking out and there was some nice angle advancement through out the evening, but aside from that there's absolutely nothing of note here and nowhere near enough in-ring time for a two hour broadcast. Not an awful show or anything, but not really worth your time either. Thumbs Down.[/FONT]


[FONT=trebuchet ms,sans-serif]Score: 4/10[/FONT]

For all of my other reviews and ratings visit my blog: http://xfearbefore.blogspot.com/​

 

[The Calgary Kid]

I started typing this as a thread, but didn't think it warranted a ton of discussion. Tonight's Raw had a definite theme going on:

After months of Cole insulting Lawler, Eve and JR, Cole gets shut up at OTL, apologizes and all is right with the world.

Kharma targets and attacks Divas repeatedly for the past month, then when they unite to stand up to her, she submits and shows weakness.

After months of being belittled and ordered around by The Miz, Alex Riley sticks up for himself and puts him in his place.

The backdrop of this is the Be a Star campaign and the That's What I Am film. Long story short, tonight's show had a theme of anti-bullying. Whether in terms of Raw having a particular theme from week to week, or in terms of a consistent presence of the anti-bullying message, could this be a trend?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Don't really have time to go into a detailed review.

Generally speaking, I thought last night's Raw was the weakest show they've done this year. Much of what went on just seemed to have kind of a blah sort of feeling about it. I thought the opening segment was fun and Truth did a good job. I like this new character of his and it was nice to see Bret Hart again, even though there really was no real purpose in having him on the show. Wrestling content on the show was pretty weak overall last night. The tag title match wasn't much to write home about. Swagger vs. Bourne was decent for what it was but, again, just a squash to make Swagger look dominant. Kofi Kingston vs. Drew McIntyre was pretty solid though certainly not the best match I've seen these two have together. The main event seemed too short and the ending seemed kinda silly. The Diva segment with Kharma was a bit unusual and I'm not sure how to take it. On one hand, the idea of her breaking down and "crying" seems pretty lame on the surface and it might turn out to be very lame if this isn't part of some scheme to sort of put the Divas off balance. Alex Riley finally beating the crap out of Miz was well done. I'm glad Riley is on SmackDown! because I don't really wanna see a Miz/Riley feud. It'd be a waste of Miz's time and talent, so now Riley can sink or swim on his own talent over on the Blue Brand. I'm curious to see what's gonna happen. The Randy Savage tribute video last night was very well done, though I wish they'd have included some snips of WWE stars saying stuff about Savage.

But yeah, kinda weak overall last night but not a horrible show. There was some pretty decent storyline advancement from last night. I'd give it a C, maybe a C-.

 

[blueskyy]

7/10

Another enjoyable RAW episode. I'm one of those guys who tuned in to RAW more for the matches than for the drama. This week, the matches were all good (except the divas match, which didn't actually start).

There were a couple of surprises here and there, a few funny moments:

1. Bret Hart guest appearance...

2. Evan Borne sneak attacking Jack Swagger during his victory lap...

3. Eve Torres extending her leg when Michael Cole extended his hand when he tried to make peace...

4. CM Punk hiding behind Bret Hart (the guest referee) during his match...

The "storyline" also proceeded very smoothly:

1. Michael Cole apologizing to the WWE universe, to Jerry the King Lawler, and to the production team...

2. R-Truth procrastinating to the WWE universe, to Bret Hart... He is slowly, but surely inching closer to a WWE Championship Title shot.

3. CM Punk interfering with a cheap shot to help his team secure the Tag Team Gold...

4. The Big Show getting hit by a car (Ricardo Rodriguez was at the wheel)...

5. Riley parting with the Miz...

I would have given it an even higher rating if not for Kharma crying in the ring. What the hell was that all about?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE Friday Night SmackDown! - May 27, 2011

Opening Segment - Pretty decent opener for SD! last night. Orton came out to a huge pop and didn't really get much of a chance to do more than say his own name and state that he was still champ before Christian's music hits. Christian comes out and continues to play the magnanimous, sporting challenger that's come up short. However, I like how they seem to be slowly building up the frustration angle. He challenges Orton for another match before Sheamus' music hits. Sheamus did a good job on the mic, hyping himself as a former 2 time WWE Champion while putting Christian's 17 year journey to be World Champion in WWE down to a fluke. Mark Henry's music hits and he comes out. Henry is pretty decent here, he doesn't try to do anything groundbreaking or particularly special and that's a good thing. We all know that he probably couldn't if he tried, so just stick with the basics. He hypes his spot as the "World's Strongest Man" and comes across as something of a bully here. Teddy Long interrupts and eventually makes a triple threat match at the end of the show to determine the #1 contender for the title. It's Christian vs. Sheamus vs. Mark Henry. Good segment that propelled the overall story along and set up what could be a good main event to close the show. Thumbs Up

Sin Cara vs. Chavo Guerrero - Pretty decent match though it seemed kinda herky jerky at times. Definitely not as smooth as I was expecting it to be. Both guys were solid in the match, Sin Cara brought some energy to the match but his spots just didn't have the smooth feel to them that we've seen out of him. Sin Cara does get the win about the 5 minute mark with this face plant move he used to beat Chavo at the ppv. I think he botched it a bit but the fans still reacted. Decent match though it could have been better. **

Daniel Bryan vs. Cody Rhodes - Prior to the match, Cody comes out with his baggers and does his thing about wanting the audience to hide their ugliness from him. Bryan comes out to a good pop and both of them put on a fun 9 minute match. I thought they worked well together and things really picked up about the second half of the match. I thought they had good chemistry together and the back and forth stuff in the second half of the match was entertaining. I was surprised to see Bryan get the win here after countering Cross Rhodes into the LaBell Lock. Rhodes tapped out quickly but quickly gets his heat back by beating Bryan down afterward. Good match and a relevant win for Daniel Bryan. This could be an interesting feud and I'm glad to see a significant step forward for Bryan here. **3/4

Ezekiel Jackson vs. Heath Slater - Ended too quickly to really mean much of anything but it went about like I expected. Big Zeke continues to look physically impressive though Slater did get a decent amount of offense in. The Corre interferes when Jackson puts Slater up in the Torture Rack but he's able to fight them off this time. Pretty standard 2.5 minute filler match. 1/2*

Christian - Christian cuts a backstage promo with Matt Striker. He continues this sort of laid back, easy going approach to his situation in the WHC picture. I kinda like it because everyone was expecting him to be this brooding, angry guy that thinks he's been cheated or something. That could come about at a later time but I like that Christian is sort of keeping people a little off balance here. To me, he seems like a "good sport" that's holding all the frustration he's feeling inside and it's getting close to just erupting like a volcano. Christian plays up the fact that he's sort of seen as an underdog and generally underrated well here. Thumbs Up

Kane vs. The Great Khali - This match was about as bad as you'd expect, though thankfully it only lasted about 2 minutes. Watching this match was like watching a couple of turtles in a foot race. Khali is slow as shit and Kane, while not exactly The Flash, had to slow himself down significantly so Khali could keep up. Kane ultimately gets the clean win after hitting the clothesline off the top rope. Afterward, Jindar Mahal comes down speaking in his native tongue to Khali & Ranjin Singh. He slaps Khali again before Singh steps in and takes up for Khali. Khali then puts Singh in the vise grip from behind. He then walks out with Mahal. Guess Khali's heel again. 1/4*

Booker T & Michael Cole - I honestly don't see the purpose of this segment. All it did was kill 5 minutes or so that could've been used toward a match. I wouldn't have minded so much if Booker had actually been kinda funny or whitty but he wasn't. Booker T kinda made fun of Michael Cole and the crowd, half heartedly, got into it. Nothing much here really. Thumbs Down

Alicia Fox & Tamina vs. Kaitlyn & AJ - Meh, not all that much to say here. Kaitlyn's looking pretty good but she still needs work. The match only lasted about 96 seconds and there wasn't really any time for much to take place. Alicia & Tamina get the win after Alicia hits the Axe Kick. N/A

Christian vs. Sheamus vs. Mark Henry - Very good main event in my opinion. I like WWE's approach to triple threat matches. They're given a good amount of time and all three wrestlers involved are given opportunity to show themselves off. There was some good action in the first half of the match before Randy Orton's music hits. He comes down and sits at ringside to watch the rest of the match. I thought Christian had a particularly good showing as he took a good amount of punishment in the match, including some of the signature and/or finishing moves of Henry & Sheamus. Around the 13 minute mark, Mark Henry attacks Orton outside briefly before getting back into the ring. Orton climbs in and hits an RKO while, simultaneously, Christian hits Sheamus with a spear and has him covered. The ref is distracted, getting Orton out of the ring, though he does eventually make the count. Sheamus has had time to recover and kicks out. Christian turns to the ref and talks with him for a bit before turning around and getting hit with the Brogue Kick from Sheamus. Sheamus gets the win about the 15 minute mark and will face Randy Orton next week on SD! for the World Heavyweight Championship. ***1/4

Overall Show - I thought SmackDown! was a pretty decent show last night, though it definitely had it's low points. Sin Cara vs. Chavo Guerrero was ok, though not nearly as good as I'd hoped or expected. Kane vs. Khali was painful, though mercifully short. The Divas match was standard filler and Booker T & Michael Cole wasted everyone's time. The opening segment of the show was fun as Daniel Bryan vs. Cody Rhodes was an entertaining, competitive match. I was surprised, pleasantly, to see Bryan get the win. The backstage promos Striker did with Christian, Sheamus & Mark Henry were all well done and the three men played their roles well. I like that they're not trying to reinvent the wheel with Mark Henry. The guy's pretty limited but he's doing good with the basic stuff he's got. The main event match was a lot of fun and I thought they did a good job of promoting the match throughout the night. Not the strongest episode of SmackDown!, but it was a fairly good show overall last night.

Grade: C+

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

WWE Friday Night SmackDown! - May 27, 2011

Opening Segment - Boring. Uncreative. Generic.

Those are the words that automatically come to mind. I feel like this scenario has taken place nearly each week, on Smackdown, for years. Champ comes out. Challenger interrupts. Another challenger interrupts, and so on. Not to mention this SAME exact thing happened, with the same people, only a few weeks ago. Hopefully Vince is as hellbent on making Smackdown a more creative show, and not just Raw.

Sin Cara vs. Chavo Guerrero - As each week passes, I care less and less about Sin Cara. YES - he hits big spots. YES - they want him to be the next Mysterio, which means he appeals to the Latino crowd. I get it. How many exhibitions of acrobatic skill do we need? Until this guy works a match that isn't completely centered around making sure the audience knows what he's capable of, I cannot become invested.

Daniel Bryan vs. Cody Rhodes - Damn fine match here, and I was surprised. I didn't think DB had a snowballs chance in hell of winning this contest. I'm hoping this sets up a feud between the two. Could be interesting, and the matches will be out of this world.

Ezekiel Jackson vs. Heath Slater - Big Zeke doesn't interest me. Heath Slater is even worse. Big Zeke is pretty terrible, even for a guy I wouldn't expect much from in the first place. I don't mind the angle, but, it's hard for me to care about something involving Big Zeke.


Kane vs. The Great Khali - Match was garbage, but the real problem is what this may lead to. I really have no interest in another "monster" run for Khali. He can't wrestle, he can't talk, etc. This new guy is interesting, and I'm hoping he turns out to be the center of attention, with Khali being nothing more than a bodyguard type.

Booker T & Michael Cole - I suppose this was necessary. The Smackdown crowd needed to see Cole take some shit, and that's what happened. Booker not letting Cole go free was pretty hilarious.

Alicia Fox & Tamina vs. Kaitlyn & AJ - No one cares.

Christian vs. Sheamus vs. Mark Henry - Decent match, and I'm interested to find out where this is going. Sheamus/Orton feud? If so, will if be given an actual story, and some time to develop (unlike every other feud they've had)? Maybe a Christian heel turn? I hope so. Decent match, about as much as you can expect from this sort of thing.

Overall Show - Average. Nowhere near as exciting or entertaining as the past few weeks, but not bad either. It was watchable, and I didn't need to fast forward, so that's always a good sign

 

[Yesiamaduck]

Quick Review:

Opening segment: Looked like it could of been brilliant however tecnichal difficulties meant the was no audio and several issues whilst switching cameras which was a damned shame... it looked like such a fresh and interesting opening for Raw, so whilst I give creative props unfortunately the issues ruined it but I got the whole 'even Zack Ryder has a t-shirt!' part which made me chuckle even without the audio. 3/10

Kofi Kingston Vs Dolph Ziggler - Decent match between these 2 which went a fair while, glad Ziggles has his blonde hair back, the brown generic look did nothing for him. It was back and forth and had a couple of good near falls and both men showed a decent amount of aggression, Ziggler picked up the clean win which is good. ***

Del Rio Segment: Just went over the video package that I've seen twice already on Superstars and Smackdown, decent promo by Del Rio but nothing of real note came from this.... I foresee Big Show Vs Del Rio at Capitol Punishment. 4/10

Alex Riley Segment: Best segment I can recall on Raw for ages, it was just so well done... Riley is super over already and got a great crowd reaction the whole way threw... this guy could be the WWE's future. The interview with cole was done decently & did cole call Riley a bastard?!?!?!?! The whole Miz beat down was done superbly with real aggression shown by Riley, best beat down I have seen in ages. 9/10

CM Punk Vs Rey Mysterio - Good match between these 2 & they showed the same ring chemistry which made their feud last year amongst the best. Again a lot of dummy finishes and with Punk winning semi-clean (at last) this was a really well executed matc even if it didn't achieve much *** 1/4

Kelly Kelly & Eve Vs The Bellas - For what it was it wasn't too bad, the were a couple of nice moves, a couple of horrid looking moments. Kelly Kelly picks up the win 3/4*

Kharma segment: Kharma cuts a really good promo, Bellas selling fear is amongst one of the worst things I've ever seen.... they looked bemused more then frightened... shame we have to wait a year for Kharma to return but she delivered a very solid (and surprisingly truthful) promo 6/10

Jack Swagger Vs Evan Bourne - Grudge match, it was very short and had very little of note happen though the were clear signs these 2 could work a good feud with each other. Bourne picks up the surprise win with a packaged pinfull *1/2

WWE Championship Match:
R-Truth Vs John Cena (c) - A nothing match really, Cena keeps on getting the upperhand on Truth & truth cowers out, luring Cena out the ring and knocking him down for the count out win DUD

After math: R-Truth really sold it for me here, his running around the arena was brilliant though the ending was incredibly underwhelming, when I saw the (c) WWE logo I was like 'is that it?' and indeed it was.... 4/10

Overall: It was a strange raw really, up until the end I was going to proclaim this one of the best Raws this year, mainly because of the Alex Riley segment and the 2 decent matches we had on the card. But unfortunately the ending was perplexedly executed, I think the opening segment would of been brilliant if it wasn't for the issues that plagued it. I think creative are doing okay though, as much as we criticize them I think their 2 latest 'big' decisions with R-Truth Heel turn and Rileys face turn have been handled to perfection and has really shaken things up on Raw, sure Rileys re-signing to Raw was done in a hap-hazard way but this feud is likely to do Riley a whole lot more good then anything they could of done with him on Smackdown. 7/10

 

[DML960]

for the first time in a LONG time looks like there having a little bit of mid card feuds brewing. Miz/Riley, Bourne/Swagger and Kingston/Ziggler. and Del Rio and Big Show if he comes back soon.

 

[WWEIsLife2]

Fun RAW once again tonight and another Hot Crowd this time in Omaha.

Good stuff with John Cena/R-Truth/Big Jimmy/Little Jimmy. Is it safe to say Truth is getting a Main Event push here?

I enjoyed the Kofi/Ziggler Match,those two have great chemistry together.

CM Punk/Rey Mysterio,nuff said there.

Alex Riley/Miz brawl was very good once again. A-Ri is coming into his own here. I wanted him to lay out Cole as well.

Kharma's promo was good,I will miss her taking time off but she will be back.

Evan Bourne upsetting Swagger was nice

So all in all another Solid RAW and can't wait to see what happens next week.

 

[HorsemenNo4]

Highlight: Alex Riley and The Miz. They fought once again and it looked real. They beat the crap out of each other and threw each other around the ring. It wasn't over dramatic or stupid gestures/posing to the crowd. It looked like 2 guys in a bar fight. Pretty great to see.

Lowpoint: End of Kharma's promo. I was surprised WWE was honest with her going away because she's having a baby. It was a nice, sweet moment that WWE really lacks. Than the Bella's came down and shit all over the segment. It was pretty low for the WWE writers to start talking crap about Kharma's weight, etc from 2 near anorexic divas. It was a pretty disgusting promo at the end. Maybe I expected too much of the WWE to be honest and have a nice send off to a woman having a baby.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE Monday Night Raw - May 30, 2011

Opening Segment - Raw experienced some technical difficulties throughout the opening of the show. However, due in part to R-Truth's great facial expressions, body language and that they started things off with him at a merchendise stand, you were easily able to follow what was going on. Truth was basically ranting about Cena and how he's the face of the WWE. Truth coming out into the crowd and doing his "Little Jimmy" stuff was fun. Cena eventually comes out and was quite tolerable, Rascal Flatts comment aside. He wasn't over the top and trying to be all cute. The Raw GM chimes in and makes a match between the two for tonight. Solid opening segment, good stuff from Truth on the mic and it pushes things along with this storyline. Thumbs Up

Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler - Entertaining match from these two. We've seen them go at it so many times in the past that I'd have been surprised otherwise. The match started somewhat slow with the two of them mostly doing some mat wrestling though it kicked into high gear about 5 minutes into the match. Good back & forth action and it's never a bad thing watching two guys wrestle that have great chemistry with each other. Lawler's jokes about Vickie are obnoxious and not really even valid. While Vickie is no Kelly Kelly, she looks quite good. The match ultimately ends at the 11 minute mark after some fun counters. Kofi tries to hit Ziggler with the SOS but Ziggler grabs the ropes, causing Kofi to take the brunt of the move. Ziggler comes back with the Zig Zag for the clean win. Expect to see them in a US title match pretty soon. Not as good as some I've seen from them, but still a very good tv match. **3/4

Alberto Del Rio - I thought this was a fun promo segment. Each time Del Rio gets on the mic, the guy just looks and sounds like a star. It looks like it'll be Del Rio vs. Big Show when Show makes his return. It could be a good thing if it's used to elevate Del Rio, otherwise it'll just be a big waste of time & Del Rio's talent. I loved the line about making Show pay for the damage done to his car and the little smile & wink at the end. Just very cool heelish stuff. Thumbs Up

Kelly Kelly & Eve vs. The Bella Twins - While most definitely far from a classic, this match was actually pretty decent while it lasted. The Divas got a pretty good reaction from the Omaha crowd tonight and the match went smoother and just had a crisper feel to it than we usually see from the Divas. The Bellas functioned pretty well as a team and got some decent heat from the crowd, even though they're nothing to talk about inside the ring. Kelly Kelly gets the hot tag and is eventually able to get the win a bit past the 3 minute mark. All four of the women looked hot, they tried hard and delivered an above average match, particularly for the time they had. *1/4

Alex Riley, Michael Cole & The Miz - Entertaining promo & brawl segment here. I like that they haven't turned Cole into a goodie-two-shoes guy and that they've toned him down some. His lecture to Riley here still generated a ton of heat from the crowd, as it was meant to because who exactly is Michael Cole to lecture anyone right? Riley didn't really say much, just kinda reveled a little at being under Cole's skin. Cole calling him a bastard was a nice little touch that brought the fire out of Riley. Riley pushed Cole down and was pushing him around & roughing up him a bit before Miz comes out and jumps him from behind. Good little brawl here with Riley able to counter Miz's sneak attack and come back to ultimately drive Miz away. I think if Riley is able to deliver a good money promo, then he'll be locked for a significant push. His interactions with Miz & now Cole, two of the most over heels in wrestling at the moment, has already garnered Riley a strong reaction from the fans. I can't say that I'm overly thrilled to see Miz feud with Riley but if Miz can elevate Riley to another level while still looking like a strong main event heel in the process, then I'm all for it. Thumbs Up

Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk - I thought this was a damn good match. Some people hate Mysterio but he almost always delivers entertaining matches. Punk is also always on his game, they have great chemistry and pulled out a very fun television match. The match told the story of their past rivalry well and there was some great back and forth action, especially in the last several minutes. Aside from some relatively minor interference from Mason Ryan in the first few minutes, he wasn't really a factor in the match. Punk eventually gets the win about the 10 minute mark, catching Mysterio in the side of the head for the clean pinfall. Punk's future with the WWE is still kinda up in the air but a clean pinfall victory over the likes of Rey Mysterio is a promising sign. ***

Kharma - I thought this was a heartfelt and emotional promo from Kharma. This is the first time I've ever heard her talk on the mic and I thought she did a good job. She told the fans a story of how much the business has meant to her and how much she's wanted to be in the WWE without going on a big life story ramble. She talks about her dream of coming to the WWE and her dream of being a mother. She announces her pregnancy and thanks the fans, and she gets a nice genuine response from them. Having the Bellas come out was a bit of a surprise. I thought, for a minute, that they were gonna have all the Divas sorta come out and hug Kharma and all this and that, but the Bellas were a couple of mean ***** out there. Don't get me wrong, it worked and the things they said to Kharma were right along the lines of what you'd want the Bellas to say. Kharma closing things off by telling the Bellas that she hopes they'll be in the WWE in a year as now she has a "new dream". Simple, effective and just very well done overall in my view. Thumbs Up

Jack Swagger vs. Evan Bourne - Pretty good, action packed 3.5 match here. Swagger did control much of the action and I like the way Bourne sells the effects of high impact moves. The way he bends and contorts his body to sell the effects of them just works with his size. Bourne ultimately gets the win after reversing Swagger into a modified victory roll. The win is something of an upset but who knows ultimately where this feud will go. **

John Cena vs. R-Truth - There really wasn't much to this match. It only lasted about 4 minutes or so and Truth going to the outside a lot. On one hand, I do wish the match would've been a proper main event. On the other hand, I also like that they're making us wait for Cena & Truth to really have a proper match. Truth looked sort of slimy & cowardly, which is always a nice touch for a heel, and the fact that he now has a count out victory over John Cena just puts more heat on Truth. Next week, Truth'll be out there bragging about how he beat the WWE Champion fair & square and things will progress from there. Truth's interactions with the family at various points during the night was fun. Throwing the drink in the dad's face was a nice touch but I would've cracked up if he'd tossed it "Little Jimmy's". The match wasn't really much to speak of but the whole segment, including the match, told the story very well and pushed it along nicely. **

Overall Show - I thought Raw was a much stronger and much more entertaining show tonight than it was last week. I thought they did a good job of showcasing the current feuds going on. Everything had a good amount of time and they were able to get the point across with each thing going on. They had a few technical difficulties at the top of the show, but Truth did a very good job on the mic and made me wanna see what he would do next. Alberto Del Rio's promo segment was fun and had a classic heel feeling about it. I enjoyed the Kharma segment much more than I thought I would. She did a good job on the mic and while she's not really a "monster" at this point, the direction the WWE went with her announcing her pregnancy and coming across more sympathetic might be better for Kharma in the long run. After all, there's only so long you can stay the silent monster before you start to grow uninteresting. Kharma wasn't at that point or anything, but she would have eventually. Wrestling content on the show was much better than last week. Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler was another fun, competitive match between these two and puts Ziggler in the hunt for the United States Championship. The Divas match was much better than average, not spectacular by any stretch but they did alright with what they were given. Punk vs. Mysterio was another great match between two guys with a lot of natural chemistry. The main event wasn't that great in terms of wrestling but it did a great job of further pushing along and hyping the storyline with R-Truth & John Cena. The WWE waiting a little while before letting these two have a real match is a good decision in my view. Strong show in my view.

Grade: B+

 

[whalip15]

I hate where WWE has gone over the past few years.....They constantly bring back the biggest name legends because the current crop of stars cant cut it....I dont blme them either, i think they have real potential its just the writing thats lettign the whole thing down. They are scared to take risks now and focusing on entertaining the kids of today, but to be fair as these kids wont be around as WWE will be dead before they grow up and repalce with IMPACT! Dont get me wrong i love WWE and have watched it since befroe savage lost to warrior in career ending match. What i am saying is the risks and the action arent there anymore.....What made it exciting and genuine back then, they werent frightened to turn the likes of stone cold, rock, undertaker and HHH heels. You could never see it coming because it was unpredictable, no one ever thought austin would go soft, he woudl join alliance, he would help WCW, but he did and it played out fro mone story into the next with falir owning half of WWE and bring austin in. the supermarket brawls, austing setting all of DX up or fighting the ministry, the rock joining corporation to win title, none of it was predictable. All exciting with twist after twist and high octane action. its all been dumbed down with very few risks being taken. Cena always wins, Orton is a face when he hold s a title and a heel when he doesnt, undertaker loses to rubbish but always win at mania (not criticising that, but how about a streak throughout shows too) get him in a storyline....what happened to hi mand kane! they need to revisit the past and fast or they wont be round long.....IMPACT his constantly growing and poutting everything on the line all the time. COME ON VINCE SHOW YOUR BALLS AND GET THIS SHOW BACK ON THE ROAD!

 

[Yesiamaduck]

PACT his constantly growing and poutting everything on the line all the time. COME ON VINCE SHOW YOUR BALLS AND GET THIS SHOW BACK ON THE ROAD!

TNAs problem is they do the above SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO often that any heel/face/alliance change hold absaloutly no meaning, that's the reason I stopped watching Impact because NOTHING felt significant. It's a fine line between being unpredictable and aimless and TNA is just that... aimless.. it has no bigger picture it always feels like the story arc's they have are written on a week by week basics.

What happened to taker/kane? It didn't draw reactions and Taker only had one more match left in him before he had to rest, what the hell is the point of carrying on the feud, a feud that went for 3 months and a feud that KANE won, it's not as if the was no pay off... the pay off was that Kane put the taker out of action & that was that.

I agree WWE's main event is a tad predictable now but don't see how your point of 'they rely on their old superstars' IMPACT wrestling, the brand you're peddling relies on old main eventers FARRR FARRR FARRR more then WWE. The WWE brought back Trish Stratus, The Rock, Steve Austin, Booker T & Kevin Nash this year but 2 of them where brought back to promote the new show 'Tough Enough', one was added to the announce team and Kevin Nash hasn't been seen since his Royal Rumble apperance. Now lets look at TNA they have Sting, Ric Flair & Hulk Hogan as the faces of the company...... these guys where faces of their respective companies in the 80's and 90's for goodness sakes and when TNA bring back a 'legend' they more often then not have them get over TNAs young talent and over them badly... winning titles, more tv time, bigger storylines. Come on man IMPACTS champion is STING! yet you're complaining that the WWE are relying too much on legends.... please.

 

[Chocolate Thunder]

Nonsense

After struggling through that mess of a post, I've worked out that you seem to be making 2 points:
(1) BAAAAWWWW!!!!11 WWE INST AZ GUD AS I USED TO BE!!!!!!111111ONE
(2) IMPACT!

To which my response is:

(1) Wrestling was never as good as you remember it being, there was never an era where every wrestler/feud/match/promo was gold, maybe if you stopped comparing WWE to some kind of magical fantasy product you might actually enjoy it. Also, if all you want to see is gimmick matches, then I'm sure you and CZW will be very happy together.

(2) LOL.

Hope that helps!

 

[whalip15]

Your both clearly misinterpretating what i am saying here..........

I dont rate impact at all by any means, when i said WWE is bringing back legends, i meant in a 'one show ratings' kind of way, not to wrestle because obviously they dont. I mean The Rock - Cena Wrestlemania, but Rock is not actually going to have wrestled anybody else beforehand and there is going to be no build up to it. They brought Rock back purely for a quick ratings increase.

YESIMADUCK - I never said IMPACT was good as i dont care for it at all and they rely heavily on has-beens, what i was tryign to get across is the fact that WWE used to be big enough that it didnt need to rely on old faces doing cameos to increase the ratings and make a show interesting, however its been creeping in more and more over last 5-10 years (prob since NWO), and this isnt something they ever needed to do, but now they have to because the current crop of stars / writing isnt good enough to pull in the viewers!

IMPACT wrestling is a train wreck, to much going on all the time. BUt least they are following through on storylines.....angle/jarrett. As for Undertaker - Kane, that isnt over. People werent drawn because it didnt go as in depth as it has in previous years, they are just scratching surfaces with storylines, having one match and then its over. When has anyone in the WWE ever been put out by months for someone and then not comeback and gained some sort of retribution????? Even HHH smashed Sheamus up.

CHOCOLATE THUNDER - I dont remember saying every part of a show was gold, but the MAJORITY OF IT WAS. Yeah there was always some poor parts, but what it lacked at that it more than made up with throughout the rest of the show, that doesnt happen now, its just a flat line with little flair to it. FACT!!

 

[Alj57]

i wrote this in the Alex Riley forum but i wanted to ask you guys this aswell.

"So i was thinking, what if The Great One himself, The Rock, start talkin about how Alex Riley reminds the Rock of himself. Therefore Alex Riley get's most of the Rocks fans to start liking Alex Riley? Then somehow have John Cena reminding us of what he had to go through with Alex Riley and the Miz. That can all start the heel turn of John Cena with The Rock and Alex Riley being the faces and Cena being the Heel? Just wondering what you guys would think if that happened."

 

[LSN80]

Raw Hits and Misses for May 30th, 2011.​

Raw Hits:​

Alex Riley and The Miz: While I find R-Truth to be a fascinating character, the feud Im most intrigued with is the sudden face turn of Alex Riley. I felt the follow up was incredibly important after the initial turn, and they couldnt have ne it much better then they did. Riley needed to be established as a threat to the former champion to build credibility, and that was done incredibly well with Riley once again getting the best of The Miz. We know Riley can talk, and he's getting a decent crowd reaction already. Miz was the perfect choice for a first feud for Riley, and he's getting over as a babyface because of it. Well done.

R-Truth and John Cena opening segment: I didnt know Truth had it in him. He's a compelling, believable heel. I don't buy into him as a threat to Cena's championship yet, but he's getting there. It was a shame there were technical difficulties to start the show, because what I heard was fantastic, as was Truth. Cena played his part well, and Truth developedyet another layer to his heel character with his fan interaction.

CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio: I was quite surprised to see these two have a long match on Raw, as this is something you would expect on Smackdown. I expected even less to see a clean finish. We basically got both in what was a very good match. The ending was very well done, and Punk and Mysterio click well together. It should be interesting to see if they throw Punk in to the championship picture here.

Dolph Ziggler vs Kofi Kingston: I hate when WWE pretends that people who watch one show havent watched the other, because these two have squared off numerous times on Smackdown. Still, a good match that told the simple story that Dolph has been scouting Kofi, and was prepared for his "signature moves", and developed effective counters for them. Like Rey and Punk, these two know each other so well that they can have a good match in their sleep.

Kharma promo: Let me first say that I hated the Bellas interruption, and Lawler's commentary more. Kharma "broke character", so why not let her have her moment? But WWE has to sink to the lowest denominator with the fat jokes. then you have Lawler, who is ridiculing Vickie for her weight earlier, calling the Bellas actions despicable. So why is this a hit? Because Kharma showed she can really talk, and she cut a great promo, a very believable one at that. It was a nice touch with her mentioning being told she didnt fit the mold of the Barbie doll Divas that WWE has gone to over the past years, and her announcing her pregnancy was a feel good moment.


Kelly Kelly and Eve vs the Bella Twins: The fans seem to truly be getting behind Kelly as a babyface, something that hasn't been done in awhile. They popped for her offense, and when she scored the pin. This wasn't a great match, and the Bellas are still bad in the ring, but they draw good heat. A mild hit.
ver
Overall Show: R-Truth continued to develop as a heel, Kharma cut a heartfelt, feel good promo, and the in-ring action was solid as well, and unexpected for Raw. Alex Riley continues to shine in whatever role he's given, and the divas actually drew a response. The show wasn't without its flaws as we still don't know where feuds are going for Capitol Punishment, but overall this was a good, enjoyable Raw. B

Raw Misses:​

Capitol Punishment Build: Last week's show was a nice filler show, but WWE needed to tighten their focus towards the PPV this week. Unfortunately, they failed to do that. No matches were announced, or even hinted at by the announcers. Instead, we got the same Obama video. One can read between the lines here, but WWE needs to do a better job of establishing where their performers fit, and what roles they'll play leading up to the PPV. That didnt happen Monday, so a big miss in that aspect.

Jack Swagger vs Evan Bourne: This is why Michael Cole was right when he said noone remembers Jack Swagger as a World Champion. Swagger just beat up Bourne, and his arrogance cost him the match. This portrayed Bourne as someone who needed to get lucky to beat Swagger, which does nothing for either man. Im interested to see if a feud develops from this, but we've seen this before from the wo. It seems as if WWE has no idea what to do with either.

R-Truth vs John Cena: WWE failed to capitlize on the possibility that Truth could actually get the better of Cena in the ring. People pay to see Cena put the heel in their place, and in order to do so, the heel has to be established as credble. Instead, we got Truth establishing he could outsmart Cena, but serve no threat to him physically. I love what theyre doing with Truth, but they missed an opportunity here.

 

[Yesiamaduck]

Smackdown 03.06.11 Review/Thoughts

-> Opening video package
Goes over the Christian saga once again, it's a well done package as usual

-> Christian Vs Mark Henry
Most of the match involved Christian struggling to get the big man off his feet, wins with the The Kill Switch... it was okay match to open the show with but nothing special by any stretch, Mark Henry did little of note *3/4

-> Christian promo
Asks for another title shot, Long won't give it to him but says he can be the special ref in tonight's main event... it was an okay promo... you can sense the heel turn is imminent by the way Christian is now piratically begging for a title shot... on the whole the promo was nothing special but it developed character in the story line nicely.

Sheamus Video Package was nice, built him as a legitimate contender well

Kaitlyn & AJ W/Natalya Vs Alicia Fox & Tamina W/Eve Mendas
->I have a real problem with Natalya as the mouth piece of anyone, the promo in the back sort of showed it, she has no charisma at all and it really holds her back. I also had no idea that Tamina was a heel, she was a face last time I looked but..... okay. Kaitlyn & AJ get the loss quite easily after Tamina hit a nice looking Somoa Drop for the win, this has to go somewhere... either Kaitlyn & AJ turn on each other or Natalya, for now it seems totally pointless. The was a crappy looking tackle and roll up performed by Kaitlyn who has looked awful in the ring every time I've seen her, she needs to improve. 1/4*

Sin Cara promo package, serves it's purpose

Cody Rhodes promo ->
Mentions wanting to become world title & brags about laying Bryan out, feel this promo wasn't as well executed as his other recent ones but was still decent. The bag cam was stupid.

Jinder Mahal W/Great Khali Vs Yoshi Tatsu
-> Typical introduction match and cements Khali as the heely body guard. Expected squash is fulfilled & wins with full nelson slam... Khali then gives Tatsu the vice grip. 3/4*

Intercontinental Title Match:
Wade Barrett (c) Vs Ezikiel Jackson
-> Big man vs Big man, both user power moves... Barrett lays down for the count out to retain the belt. Organizes a 3 on 1 attack but Barrett doesn't enter the ring leaving Gabriel & Slater to receive beats. 1/2*

Ted DiBiase Vs Daniel Bryan
-> Finally a good match in what has been a totally disposable Smackdown, these 2 worked well together and I especially liked the ending which resulted in Bryan winning with labell lock. Rhodes came down mid match to scout Bryan and he did a great job of it, looking totally psycotic at ringside. After the match Rhodes once againn lays out Bryan and Dibiase/Rhodes double team Bryan, Sin Cara makes the save. Good match and should build to a good ppv match between the 4 of them. ***1/2

Smackdown shows the R-Truth segment in almost it's entirety, it really was as good a promo as it looked.

R-Truth Vs John Cena announced for Capitol Punishment

World Heavyweight Title match:
Randy Orton (c) Vs Sheamus Special Ref: Christian
This was a slow building match, it started off a bit dull but it really built up nicely, Sheamus accidentally ran into christian then Bro Kicked Orton which would of got him the 3... Christian feigns arm injury, RKO for the win. Christian congratulates Orton before clocking him with the World Title which he leaves with... this worked on so many levels... it showed Sheamus Could get the win over Orton clean, kept the title on Orton & made Christian look like a legitimate threat, it couldn't of been booked better and SHOULD lead to a triple threat match at Capitol Punishment. **3/4

Overall: The first half of this show was total rubbish, the final 2 matches and segments saved it. 5/10

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Don't really have the time at the moment for an in depth review.

Overall, Raw was a solid show last night. I don't think it was quite as strong overall as last week's, but I enjoyed myself for most of the night.

I'm glad to see that Andy won Tough Enough. Luke is stronger overall inside the ring but the guy's natural immaturity really shined through. However, I have a feeling he'll wind up with a contract himself.

The opening segment was pretty memorable. Vince's presence doesn't have quite the zing to it that it once did but that's due mostly to the fact that we've seen him so much over the years. Still, it was nice to see him. Truth's antics cracked me up last night. I expected an insincere apology but the whole Confederacy thing was funny to me. I think they're building Truth as someone in which you don't really know what to expect out of him on a week to week basis. He might seem incredibly serious & menacing one week while humorously insulting the next. Having all the players out there for the main event worked and Vince telling Cole to shut up was a nice little moment

Alberto Del Rio's promo segment was pretty decent. Wasn't as strong as last week's but I like that they pulled out the old chesnut with Ricardo Rodriguez dressing up as Big Show to mock him.

I thought wrestling content was a little weaker overall than last week. Santino & McGuillicutty had a solid 5 minute match but the wrong guy won. I'd give it a *1/2 stars. The Divas had a somewhat above average match. Nothing to write home about but above average for them. I give it a *. Mysterio vs. CM Punk was another really good match. While it was obvious that Punk was going to lose last night, it was still a *** match in my view. Kofi Kingston vs. Zack Ryder was ok for what it was, maybe a *1/4. Kofi needed a win to get some steam back after losing clean to Ziggler last week. Booker T vs. Jack Swagger was pretty good while it lasted though I think Swagger should've won. It was a good opportunity to really elevate Swagger. I'd give the match **. Booker T looked to be in fantastic shape. It's like the guy just stopped aging about 5 years or so ago. The main event was a solid 10.5 minute match overall. I knew Austin would ultimately interfere and cost Truth & Miz the match. Pretty decent action in the match, Austin did his thing and the crowd went home happy. **1/2

Overall, I give last night's show a B-.

 

[MinistryofDeath89]

I thought this week's Raw was goodI would give it a 7/10 to be honest, It started off pretty well with them naming the Tough Enough winner and then Vince coming out slapping Andy for his welcome into the WWE and Stone Cold to top it off by giving him a Stunner. Would of been great to see Stone Cold give Vince a stunner as well that. I thought R-Truth was entertaining with his costume ...

Kelly Kelly & Beth Phoenix vs Bella Twins Divas match

All have to say is early piss break. Ever since kharma said she would be leaving for 9 months I just completely stopped watching the divas matches again. Not trying to be sexiest or anything but some of the divas just can't wrestle in the WWE today they maybe gorgoues but they can't pull off a good match.

Cm Punk vs Rey Mysterio

I thought it was a pretty soild match good ending to the match

Kofi vs Zack Ryder

I just have to say im not a fan of zack ryder at all but it wasn't a bad match on Raw

Alberto Del Rio Promo

Im a big big fan Del Rio but this promo was just stupid and pointless in my opinion you could tell the crowd didn't like it at all and couldn't buy into it.

Booker T vs Swagger match

Have to say it's really good to see Booker T in the squared circle again he look's in great shape and I thought the match was good Booker T did very well in the ring since he hasn't had a WWE match in 4 years.

The Miz & R-Truth vs Alex Riley & John Cena ( Stone Cold Special guest Referee)

Good ending to Raw with Stone Cold and John Cena destorying Michael Cole in the ring. And Stone Cold been announced has the GM for next week's Raw.

So whats your Opinion of last nights Raw

Love to here your thoughts ???

 

[CitiBoy7]

Raw was one of the best ones in a while from top to bottom with excitement. Maybe it was because Austin, Vince, and the finale of tough enough.

 

[Wolf Pac]

This week's show just proved why they are better than TNA every week and I also gotta point out I loved last weeks ending too. But back onto this show, it was top notch from start to bottom, provided decent matches, good opening & ending segments and hilarious promos by R-Truth in that costume and Ricardo Rodriguez as Big Show.

 

[DForce]

I thought it was funny as hell. From Vince slapping Andy to Cena being overwhelmed by all of Autin's beer throwing. If there was a low point of last night's Raw, it was the Del Rio segment. That was plain stupid to have a guy go through the trouble of dressing up like Big Show and Alberto yell insults... well... at a fake Big Show. Overall, though, it was a very entertaining show.

BTW, I was grabbing a beer, came back, and caught, at the last minute, Austin taunting Cena with the UCan'tCMe; what was that about?