WWE Raw Supershow - February 27, 2012
Opening Segment - Very strong promo segment from Punk & Jericho. Even though this feud only just started, you have the usual IWC bitching and moaning about it. I wish the smarks would just shut the fuck up and enjoy it. I knew that they'd soon deliver the promo segment people were waiting fur and it happened last night. Not only that, but I think they've taken the feud in the direction it should go. Both Punk & Jericho are pretty cocky guys and this promo highlighted the pride both of them feel for who they are and the WWE Championship. The intensity they showed was great and I have a feeling that Punk vs. Jericho could be the best match on the WM card. Whenever Punk says something along the lines of putting on a match that will steal the show, it almost always happens. Great promo segment to move things along and there's still a month left for additional build. Thumbs Up
1. CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan - While this match wasn't anywhere near as good as their previous two matches were, I think that was partially the point. The WWE has provided two ppv main event worth matches featuring these two and this match was more focused on highlighting the GM feud, and potentially continues the build towards a more legit brand feud for the Bragging Rights ppv. At any rate, it was still an entertaining match featuring two guys that just flat out can go inside the ring. I admit that I thought it was a little annoying with more emphasis being put on the GM storyline, thereby taking away from the match. But, at the same time, I don't think any reasonable person can ultimately complain when we've gotten two fantastic tv matches out of these two in the past few weeks. The match delivered some very good back & forth, physical action and it ended in a no contest. Sheamus interfered and tossed Bryan back into the ring where Punk hit the GTS. As he goes for the cover, Big Johnny enters the ring and stops the ref from counting. The segment ends with Teddy Long pushing JL onto the mat, which drew a huge pop from the crowd. The match ended about the 10.5 minute mark and while it wasn't nearly as good as the other two, it wasn't intended to be and it still left fans wanting to see more between these two. ***
Jericho Attacks Punk - As Punk is standing up on the ramp posing a bit for the crowd, Jericho comes out and jumps him from behind. He slams Punk's head into the ramp a few times before delivering a body slam on the stage. Punk sold the shit out of the slam and its effects on his back and did the same when he was put into the Walls of Jericho. It was a perfect way to put more heat on Jericho and to cap off the interaction of these two for the show. Thumbs Up
2. Kelly Kelly vs. Brie Bella - As expected, this Diva match was pretty short but it was more interesting than most. The match had a cool finishing sequence with Kelly landing a dropkick on Nikki and knocking her off the apron. Brie rolled Kelly up but Kelly reversed it and did a nice looking bridge while scoring the win. Nothing great, but it honestly wasn't too bad. Too short to rate really, but it was ok for what it was. N/A
3. John Cena vs. The Miz - Prior to the match, Miz delivered a good promo talking about his glory days last year as WWE Champion and how hard he's worked for the company. Regardless of the heat he's garnered lately, Miz has worked his ass off for the WWE. The match itself was a decent 5 minute outing with the outcome never being in doubt. Cena showed a bit more energy in the ring than normal and he & Miz worked at a nice pace. Miz controlled much of the match before Cena got on his roll. Cena winds up hitting the AA and forces Miz to tap to the STF. **1/4
4. Primo & Epico vs. Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger for the WWE Tag Team Championship - Even though the match had something of a tacked on feeling, it still entertaining and all the teams looked good. Kofi Kingston looked impressive and his offense constantly drew pops from the live crowd. Ziggler continues to get solid heat with his "show off" aspect of his personality and the match delivered some good action. I'm also glad that they gave this match some actual time, roughly about 10 minutes, as I was expecting something much shorter. The closing minutes of the match were fun with the action breaking down, but not in a chaotic way really. The end comes when Swagger has the ankle lock on Epico, who did a nice job selling the move, when Kofi comes up and lands Trouble in Paradise on Swagger. Primo comes up from behind Swagger and nails him with the Backstabber with Epico covering Swagger & getting the win. A good match overall and another solid win for the current champs. ***
Kane - I didn't really care for Kane popping up here quite frankly. Kane came out and did a typical monster rampage by leaving everyone laying that got into his way. He roughed up Dolph & Primo after taking out Epico outside with a big boot. He landed a double chokeslam onto Dolph & Primo before Truth tries to fight him, but takes a chokeslam for his trouble. I thought it made the teams look weak and there didn't seem to be any real reason for this. Thumbs Down
Eve Torres - This was short in-ring promo segment but I thought Eve did a good job. Over the past several weeks, Eve has demonstrated that she's good at showing a wide range of emotions. In her promo, she came off as something of a callous golddigger in some ways as she used some stereotypical shallow reasons to justify her behavior. She's already getting crazy heat from the live crowd and the "Hoeskie" chant is something we're going to hear a lot of. I'm not sure really where they're going with this, I have a feeling they're going to take their time, but Eve did a solid job in my view. Thumbs Up
5. Big Show & Sheamus vs. Mark Henry & Cody Rhodes - This was a waste of time altogether. The match lasted about a minute and consisted of Big Show hitting Henry with a spear before Sheamus tags in after a bit and hits the Brogue Kick for the win. Henry has been too damn good for WWE to start going backwards with him. He worked his ass off and deserves better than this crap. N/A
Closing Segment - The Rock came out for his appearance to a massive pop. The fans were charged throughout the entire segment and Rock was his usual charismatic self out there and had the entire live crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. The Rock ripped on Cena for a while after Rock indulged the crowd with some posing & pandering for about 10 minutes or so before Cena's music hit. Cena came out to the ring and I was worried that he was going to try and be all cutesy. Cena came out, however, Cena showed some great intensity and I thought really got the better of The Rock again here on the mic. Some of what Rock was saying and the way he was pandering to the fans made me think of a politician. It reminded me of some of these charismatic politicians that sometimes stretched the truth a little or tweaks it a little bit in order to make it fit just right into what they're saying. When Cena called Rock "an egomaniacal see-through son of a bitch who wouldn't give a damn if the company closed its doors tomorrow", I found myself agreeing with Cena. I'm not ragging on Rock or anything, don't get me wrong, but I do think The Rock does come across as a bit phony at times. The Rock has his movie career, he's gotten all he can from WWE and WWE closing its doors probably wouldn't matter all that much to him in the grand scheme of things. The part where Cena mentioned The Rock having notes on his wrist, which he actually did, and left while telling Rock to carry on and continue trending was great. Afterward, The Rock seemed flustered and it seemed like Cena took a lot of the swagger out of Rock as he seemed rattled. Afterward, The Rock said that it was just like Cena to run his mouth & walk away before he could slap the lips off his face and it really made Rock look like a bitch in my view. It was great as I was thinking "well, why didn't you do it while he was out there". It seemed like The Rock was talking trash while Cena wasn't out there. Cena's promo was more to the point and The Rock was doing his usual posing & catchphrases with the fans eating it up. A helluva segment to close the show out and one that, in my view, had Cena coming out looking much stronger than Rock. Thumbs Up
Final Thoughts - Last night's Raw delivered and focused more attention on the build for Punk vs. Jericho & Cena vs. Rock rather than Taker vs. Triple H. The two main promo segments both truly delivered last night. Punk & Jericho's exchange was great and the follow up later with Punk getting jumped by Jericho from behind was the perfect way to end things between them last night. The Rock's promo, interrupted by Cena last night, also very much delivered. The Rock did his thing, as usual, and was massively over. Cena came out and delivered a more no nonsense promo and got right to the point whereas The Rock came off as someone pandering to the fans. Overall, the show had some very good wrestling action as well. Punk vs. Bryan was a good match, not nearly as good at the other two. Some fans can bitch & moan about it all they want, but the match definitely left them wanting more and they know it. That was part of the point. Cena vs. Miz was a solid 5 minute match, though the outcome was never in doubt, at the WWE Tag Team Championship 3 way dance was also entertaining. Epico & Primo won the match and racked up another solid win for themselves. The only things I didn't really like about the show was Kane coming out and slaughtering those teams following the match and the Show & Sheamus vs. Henry & Rhodes match. Henry shouldn't be treated like this, he's just done too damn good of a job. There's no need to go backwards with him. The GM feud continues to build and fans are definitely responding to it. I just hope it doesn't lead to a match between these two.
Grade: A-