Official Raw/Smackdown Aftermath, Ratings and Review Thread

[jsn_since89]

I don't no whether its After-Mania Blues or the fact WWE Creative is just s!#t but...

Anyone who thinks that Brock v Cena Brawl was good last night is f*****g delusional!
Piss Poor in my estimation!

Getting top guys from the back to break it up makes them look weak for starters!

SHEAMUS, DANIEL BRYAN, MARK HENRY, DEL RIO, RHODES, ZIGGLER to name a few!!

Lets get Taker, HHH, Orton, Kane, Jericho then to do the same yeah?

Typifies the WWE at the minute ruining talent (NEVER GUNNA GO NO WHERE!)

p.s POSITIVE NOTE - CENA GETTING BUSTED IN THE MOUTH!

**

KANE & THE THREE STOOGES!!

WRECKING A LEGEND (JACOBS DOESN'T DESERVE IT)

**

LORD TENSAI (BE JOBBING IN A FEW MONTHS!)

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NO DIVAS MATCH WHATSOEVER IN THE WHOLE SHOW
(YEAH PROBABLY A GOOD THING IN SOME PEOPLES EYES, BUT DO THEY WANT TO GIVE THEM CREDIBILITY OR NOT??? - GETTING EVE TO BE A SLAG WON'T!)


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JOSH MATTHEWS IS A T#@T!

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AND LAURINAITIS STUPID PHONE TEXTING AT THE END OF A SEGMENT? WTF THAT GOING?!

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Last night's Raw was ok but it definitely didn't wow me. Overall, last night's show felt more like a show with the primary goal of moving along some storylines and maybe giving people a chance to catch their breaths. After all, there's been a LOT going on for the past 6 weeks or so. I have a feeling that last night's show was sort of a filler for next week.

The Cena vs. Lesnar feud is already white hot. The opening of the show was great and Cena's busted lip really added a bit of gritty realism to the whole thing. Lesnar's brief backstage promo later on in the night was surprisingly well done I thought. He seemed like a cocky bastard and I'm glad that WWE isn't just deciding to ignore Lesnar's time in the UFC.

The Punk vs. Jericho feud was moved along nicely last night. On the surface, it might seem like Jericho challenging Punk's Straight Edge beliefs seems kinda lukewarm but then you have to take things into consideration. Punk's father was a huge reason for Punk's choice to be Straight Edge and Jericho constantly bringing up his old man adds a real sense of emotional context for me. Punk is someone that really came across as someone that does love his father but, at the same time, remembers the embarassment he felt. I thought he did a good job of selling that point. Punk's dealing with conflicting images of his father. On one hand, he's proud of his old man and loves him, especially after getting his lfie back together. At the same time, however, he's also ashamed. I'd be willing to bet that Punk's father probably did some things in Punk's youth to really embarass him and, quite honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if Punk still carries around the proverbial scars it caused.

I was disappointed in the wrestling content last night. As far as wrestling action goes, it was easily one of the weakest Raws of 2012. The opening tag match disappointed me as Ziggler, quite frankly, is too talented to have been wasted on taking the pinfall from Brodus Clay last night. Tensai had another squash match, though he continued to look ok I thought. Del Rio vs. Ryder was an enhancement match and Cena beat up David Otunga for the 18,000th time. However, I have higher hopes for next week as they announced another WWE Championship match between Punk & Henry in advance, so this one will turn out to be an actual match.

Not a great show last night, but the two top storylines on Raw did get moved along well. I'd give last night's show a C.

 

[XXJJ]

A couple of quick thoughts on Raw...

- I thought the brawl with Cena and Lesnar was okay. A simliar style brawl with Orton and Henry had 5-6 months ago was much better. Loved when Henry started attacking some of the guys trying to break it up.

- I was shocked to see the world champ in the middle of it trying to break it up. You make those guys look very weak. That is a spot where you see a bunch of midcarders and jobbers. LOL not your freakin World heavyweight Champion.

-IMO I thought Lesnar promo was awful. The content was good but it felt like he was just reading it. He has never been good at cutting promos. I would limit how much he talks.

-Punk/Jericho has been a very solid feud. Jericho is great at being a bastard.

-I felt bad for Lord Tensai. Fans chanting his old name was not a good sign.

Overall I thought it was a disappointing episode of Raw. Nothing really stood out aside from the Brock/Cena angle.

 

[The Eighties]

I thought the legends show was pretty dull outisde of the Piper, Bryan and AJ Piper's Pit, that was great work from all three.

This is two nights in a row without a decent match and lots of filler and it was dissapointing that Foley's presence did not lead to thew debut of Dean Ambrose, but I guess trying to be top asshole after Bryan's two recent promos would be hard going even though he is good on the stick.

The booking of Sheamus is odd to me, his apologies at the start and then all smiles with the old timers at the end make it feel like they want him to be a big cuddly Irish Cena.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

As with Raw, last night's SD! felt mostly like filler. I'm guessing one reason for that might be due to WWE embarking on what's going to be a physically exhausting tour of Europe. From what I understand, they're even doing a show in Moscow, Russia either today or tomorrow. The WM Revenge tour is one of the most exhausting of the year, so maybe they decided to take it easy on the talent this week and kick it back up for next week's Raw & SD! tapings in London.

It was nice to see some of the WWE legends out there last night. It was sort of dull at times but, at the same time, we're not going to see most of these guys very often. Tony Atlas still looks like he could kick somebody's ass and I almost didn't recognize Hillbilly Jim. It's always nice to see Mean Gene Okerlund, it's very rare that we see him anymore.

For me, the highlight of the show was the Piper's Pit segment. I thought Piper did a solid job, not the best I've seen out of him, but I'm glad that he didn't overshadow AJ & Daniel Bryan and that they were kept the focal point of the segment. AJ came off perfectly as the sweet, meek woman while Bryan looked like a complete sleaze. I'm surprised to hear that it's going to be him taking on Sheamus at ER as I thought WWE was positioning Del Rio for that spot this time around. Great all around segment with Bryan ultimately getting the best of Piper with the smack to the face. I also dig the fact that Bryan isn't playing to the crowd in spite of all the "Yes" stuff going on. It could be so tempting for WWE to try and make Bryan into another "cool heel" and I'm so happy to see that they're not going that route, at least not yet.

As for wrestling action on the show, Orton vs. Henry was a pretty good match in my view. A nice solid, 2.25 star match I thought. I would have preferred to see Henry get the win over Orton, as he did beat Orton clean twice this past summer for the WHC, since he has a WWE Championship match this Monday against CM Punk.

The rest of the action really wasn't worth mentioning. Ryback looked like a beast and that friggin' clothesline he hit looked incredible. He damn near took that kid's head off. Foley & Hart's antics sorta ruined what could have been a promising tag match and the main event ended about how I figured with the legends helping Sheamus get the win.

Overall, last night's show came off as dull. It was fun to see the legends but this wasn't done nearly as well as I'd hoped and wasn't anywhere nearly as entertaining as the Old School episode of Raw was back in 2010. The highlight of the show was a great Piper's Pit segment but the rest of the show fell flat. Overall, probably the weakest SD! of the year. I'd give it a C- as the only real saving grace was Piper's Pit.

 

[LTDA]

Smackdown was pretty bad last night. I really used to like Sheamus back when he has the WWE Championship and up until he lost it in the six man elimination match at Night of Champions a couple of years ago. But the more he talks on the mic, the more I feel a disconnect with him and the crowd. It's almost like his accent bars him from getting the fans rallied behind him. Not to mention there aren't any great heels for him to feud with.

They may have to reevaluate Sheamus as the mega face they want him to be, 'cause I don't see it happening as of now. He was getting much bigger and better reactions when he was just running around brogue kicking random wrestlers in the face.

 

[TBK]

Smackdown, to me, just felt like a huge disappointment. I was expecting something like Old-school RAW, and the thing with Old-School RAW is it was just a really good RAW with some good cameos. It never felt like the older people out-shadowed the younger people. Here, it feels like every segment they wanted more attention to be shown to the legends, which I guess I can understand as they almost never show up, but it felt so forced in and at times unnecessary. Overall, I wouldn't say it was bad, but it was certainly one that you wouldn't really miss by skipping.

 

[WrestlingWithWords]

Last year when The Rock returned for the first time live in almost 7 years, the follow-up week of WWE RAW got a 3.9 rating. For the next several weeks, all the way until WrestleMania 27, RAW was routinely in the 3.7-3.9 range.*

Fast forward a year. During the five weeks of RAW that The Rock was apart of on the road to WrestleMania 28, RAW never scored above a 3.2 rating. Even the night immediately after WrestleMania 28, traditionally one of the highest-rated RAWs of the year, only scored a 3.4 rating.*

Enter Brock Lesnar. One of the biggest stars that the WWE could ever hope to resign. At this stage, in the current wrestling world, Brock Lesnar, a former UFC Heavyweight Champion, is probably THE biggest catch for any wrestling company in the world. Surely that should translate to an immediate surge in RAW ratings...right?

Wrong. The follow-up week to Lesnar's big return, when he was advertised in advance to be there live, scored a 3.1 rating. 3.1! Now, maybe ratings will pick up in the coming weeks, but things aren't off to a good start. We're in the immediate-post WrestleMania season, usually a fairly good ratings period for WWE, coming off the heels of WrestleMania. And the long-awaited return of wrestling and UFC icon, Brock Lesnar, have way to a 3.1 rating. Like I said, ratings could go up from here as Brock's storyline progresses, but on that same note...ratings could also continue to go down.*

So what gives? Are people not interested in mega stars like The Rock and Brock Lesnar? I don't think that's the reason here. One could point to things such as DVR & Monday night competition. While no one could deny that those factors play a role, RAW's ratings should still not be almost to the 2-range. At least not at this time of year.*

I think the problem is two things:*
1) An incredibly stale top star. I recognize that John Cena is the WWE's biggest star and rightfully so, but it doesn't change the fact that his character is incredibly stale and predictable, as it has been for years now. Cena still sells more merchandise than anyone else, but beyond that, is he TRULY a draw anymore? He is, but only to one demographic: kids. And while that's a large demographic, otis not the only one. I'm not a Cena hater, even though it may sound like it. I think he should still be at or near the top of the company, I'm simply saying that he needs some character development, and bad. And that doesn't necessarily mean a heel turn. Just. Something. Something to give people a reason to watch. When John Cena comes on TV every week and literally says, "I'm not changing and this is what you'll see from me every week," why would the many people who don't care for him continue to tune in? Cena's a big merch-seller alright, but I argue that he is actually having a negative affect on ratings at this stage.*
2) Lack of new stars. You don't need me to point out the obvious: this year so far has been all about the old stats: Rock, Taker, HHH, HBK, Jericho, Lesnar, and yes, even John Cena. Think back to the start of the Atittude Era, wrestling's hottest time period. Look at who was on top during those years: Austin, Rock, HHH & DX, Kane, and a rejuvenated Mick Foley. Every single one of those names was a new, fresh star. This generation wants the same thing that the generation that lived through the Attitude Era wanted: their OWN stars that they can watch grow and rise right before their eyes. Rock, HHH, and company are huge stars, but today's audience views them as stars from the past. Or in other words, not "THEIR" guys. The audience wants a new, young guy they can get behind. Like they did originally with Cena 7-8 years ago. Now, Cena's act has gotten old to the majority of the audience, and the audience is ready for the next big new star to steal their hearts. Is it CM Punk? Maybe someday, but not right now.*

I believe that those two factors above are the largest contributors to RAW's slipping ratings. And until they are addressed, things like the returns of The Rock and Brock Lesnar will not do anything more than a short-term ratings bump, if even that.*

Thanks for reading. For more, follow me on Twitter for wrestling news & opinions: @WrestlingwWords

 

[Martin Gabriel]

I wanted to bring this up during SmackDown last night but my internet wasn't working. I know I'm preaching to the choir here but oh well... Oh my God... This childish back-and-forth commentating needs to stop. The bickering, the fighting, it's fucking stupid. This became so vividly clear to me last night when Booker T out of the blue mentioned that Michael Cole died in his dream the night before. I mean, really? This is what the commentating on WWE has become? What the fuck ever.

 

[berlinbrawler]

the more he (Sheamus) talks on the mic, the more I feel a disconnect with him and the crowd.

Couldn't agree more. His promos have grown downright hideous. But I don't think it's the delivery, it's the things he is saying. It's like he's become Rocky F'N Maivia - an all around good guy just happy to be there, wanting everybody to have a good time. Seems more like a case of a weak creative direction than lack of talent.

And what was that with the whole apology thing? He apologized for intentionally attacking a referee? Come again? Did triple H apologize when he attacked a ref? Did the Undertaker? Steve Austin? Kane? Anyone else? It's not like it has never happened before. And no one ever cared. But Sheamus apparently felt the need to publicly apologize. Now does that make him look like a wuss or what?

Granted, it was all designed so Laurinaitis could add fuel to the fire and blow that thing up to ridiculous proportions, which will obviously lead to a conflict between the two. But the damage is done and Sheamus right now is miles away from the bad ass he needs to be.

At least that's how I see it.

 

[tomthebodz]

- I was shocked to see the world champ in the middle of it trying to break it up. You make those guys look very weak. That is a spot where you see a bunch of midcarders and jobbers. LOL not your freakin World heavyweight Champion.

Kind of agree, but you could also argue that the rivalry is so intense you need the top guys in the company to come and help.

I think the Cena/Lesnar rivalry has been rushed. A brawl like this shouldn't happen after 2 weeks.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Ratings are outdated.
Alot of people watch on the internet
Alot of people watch on DVR.

If WWE is smart and wants to accurately track viewers, they will live stream RAW on their website as I don't think they know just how many watch online.

Now for 4-9 RAW, the show started great, and then went downhill.

WWE trying to squash the DBD momentum? show him breaking up the fight, but don't use him(or Sheamus, or Orton)

Otunga in the main event was a joke, he doesn't belong there.

I can't watch a Cardinals or a Royals game on MLB.com because of broadcast rights contracts and I'm paying 110 dollars for it. There is no way in hell USA allows WWE to stream it on their site.

I agree with you about how outdated ratings are. Cable is going to be dead in 20 years.

I think the April 9 episode of Raw was solid. Cena and Lessie starting in a GREAT angle. Cena showing some fire, then wrestling with a fat lip and smiling and winning though it. Told a story about Cena's character. I also like how Brock's character went through the show. Complete selfishness. I'm hooked on this feud.

Punk vs Jerich had some good stuff too. Chitown is gonna get treated to another great card. Punk/Jericho and Cena/Lesnar will be super hot crowds.

The rest of the show was sort of filler but at least it was mostly fun filler. Funkasaurus/Santino is always a good time and Will Sasso did a damn good Hogan impression.

Raw was either super intense or super fun tonight. Nice pace and change of emotions. Really all you can ask from your TV show.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Last year when The Rock returned for the first time live in almost 7 years, the follow-up week of WWE RAW got a 3.9 rating. For the next several weeks, all the way until WrestleMania 27, RAW was routinely in the 3.7-3.9 range.*

Fast forward a year. During the five weeks of RAW that The Rock was apart of on the road to WrestleMania 28, RAW never scored above a 3.2 rating. Even the night immediately after WrestleMania 28, traditionally one of the highest-rated RAWs of the year, only scored a 3.4 rating.*

Enter Brock Lesnar. One of the biggest stars that the WWE could ever hope to resign. At this stage, in the current wrestling world, Brock Lesnar, a former UFC Heavyweight Champion, is probably THE biggest catch for any wrestling company in the world. Surely that should translate to an immediate surge in RAW ratings...right?

Wrong. The follow-up week to Lesnar's big return, when he was advertised in advance to be there live, scored a 3.1 rating. 3.1! Now, maybe ratings will pick up in the coming weeks, but things aren't off to a good start. We're in the immediate-post WrestleMania season, usually a fairly good ratings period for WWE, coming off the heels of WrestleMania. And the long-awaited return of wrestling and UFC icon, Brock Lesnar, have way to a 3.1 rating. Like I said, ratings could go up from here as Brock's storyline progresses, but on that same note...ratings could also continue to go down.*

So what gives? Are people not interested in mega stars like The Rock and Brock Lesnar? I don't think that's the reason here. One could point to things such as DVR & Monday night competition. While no one could deny that those factors play a role, RAW's ratings should still not be almost to the 2-range. At least not at this time of year.*

I think the problem is two things:*
1) An incredibly stale top star. I recognize that John Cena is the WWE's biggest star and rightfully so, but it doesn't change the fact that his character is incredibly stale and predictable, as it has been for years now. Cena still sells more merchandise than anyone else, but beyond that, is he TRULY a draw anymore? He is, but only to one demographic: kids. And while that's a large demographic, otis not the only one. I'm not a Cena hater, even though it may sound like it. I think he should still be at or near the top of the company, I'm simply saying that he needs some character development, and bad. And that doesn't necessarily mean a heel turn. Just. Something. Something to give people a reason to watch. When John Cena comes on TV every week and literally says, "I'm not changing and this is what you'll see from me every week," why would the many people who don't care for him continue to tune in? Cena's a big merch-seller alright, but I argue that he is actually having a negative affect on ratings at this stage.*
2) Lack of new stars. You don't need me to point out the obvious: this year so far has been all about the old stats: Rock, Taker, HHH, HBK, Jericho, Lesnar, and yes, even John Cena. Think back to the start of the Atittude Era, wrestling's hottest time period. Look at who was on top during those years: Austin, Rock, HHH & DX, Kane, and a rejuvenated Mick Foley. Every single one of those names was a new, fresh star. This generation wants the same thing that the generation that lived through the Attitude Era wanted: their OWN stars that they can watch grow and rise right before their eyes. Rock, HHH, and company are huge stars, but today's audience views them as stars from the past. Or in other words, not "THEIR" guys. The audience wants a new, young guy they can get behind. Like they did originally with Cena 7-8 years ago. Now, Cena's act has gotten old to the majority of the audience, and the audience is ready for the next big new star to steal their hearts. Is it CM Punk? Maybe someday, but not right now.*

I believe that those two factors above are the largest contributors to RAW's slipping ratings. And until they are addressed, things like the returns of The Rock and Brock Lesnar will not do anything more than a short-term ratings bump, if even that.*

Thanks for reading. For more, follow me on Twitter for wrestling news & opinions: @WrestlingwWords

Jesus, some of you REALLY need to learn a thing or two about how markets change.

STOP looking at the number. The business of entertainment through media is changing so rapidly that even looking at numbers from say this time last year is probably skewed.

Think about this, me, my girlfriend, two of my cousins, and one of my best friends all watch Raw......none of us have cable or DirectTV.

Ratings, as other posters and I have stated, is OUTDATED. Look at the POSITION of the ratings if anything. I didn't look up 4/9's ratings, but they were number 1 in cable the 4 weeks prior to that.

The problem isn't the WWE, it's not "John Cena is stale" (he's not, they've evolved his character well and he's still...you know...massively fucking over), it's YOU. YOU the average poster on here. YOU literally don't know how to properly interpret things or think critically.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Kind of agree, but you could also argue that the rivalry is so intense you need the top guys in the company to come and help.

I think the Cena/Lesnar rivalry has been rushed. A brawl like this shouldn't happen after 2 weeks.

You don't know what they're doing next week. You don't know what they're doing at ER. You don't know where it's ending.

What you are doing is like if you watch the movie Scream and said "I think they killed off a big name too soon". It's dumb to assume.

I think they needed there to be an altercation. Cena had to respond and Brock had to respond immediately to that because he's Brock Lesnar. Also, this is sort of the point of the feud. That it's an intense feud with a monste wanting to kill people. Rock/Cena you can stall forever because it was a different kind of feud.

 

[The Eighties]

Good Raw tonight, Punk and Henry work really well together and this played out perfectly with Punk hitting bursts of offense and big Mark cutting him off with his mass. The rail running bulldog a flying chair-drop were the two stand out spots.

Jericho's post-match promo was another smarmy heel masterclass that informed us he will be facing Punk for the WWE title in a Chicago Street Fight at Extreme Rule, Punk sells Jericho's revelation of Punk being caught on camera going into a pub well, giving a reasonable explanation but not overdoing it so as to leave the lines blurred, plus it led to the first ever "Fish & Chips" chant!

Santino vs Otunga was short and about as good as could be expected, Otunga is still a little clunky in there but he's improving.

Ryder vs Kane went pretty much like every situation Ryder has been in with Kane, him getting squashed and Kane standing tall, Kane cut a promo but I wasn't paying attention.

The Brock Lesnar promo and vid package was really well put together and Brock came across exactly as you'd want him to, a ruthless destroyer.

Cena's promo was also very good despite the crowd constantly chanting irrelevant things at him, he did what a good face should do when facing a monstrous opponent, put over the sense of danger he's in but remain defiant. Ace does his thing at the end and sets up the main event of the night, Cena vs a mystery man in an Extreme Rules match.

Quick backstage segment with Bryan interrupting a conversation between Kofi and AJ in his classic obnoxious fashion, he gives Kofi a telling off and then proceeds to rename his finishing move the YES!-Lock before yelling YES! about a dozen times at Kofi who did his best not to laugh, Bryan's gold.

Bryan vs Kofi is the second quality match of the night, a really good back and forth with plenty of invention and athletic ability on display from both men. Bryan goes over clean with the YES!-Lock and then reapplies it which brings out Sheamus. In truth Bryan was the heel but massively over, way more so than either of the the two faces. The match was a good showcase for both Kofi and Bryan though.

Dolph vs Brodus and Show/Khali vs Epico & Primo were very short filler, it's sad to see Dolph completely directionless and and being used as a bump machine for a novelty act, I was also surprised Cody didn't show up during the tag match.

Cena's mystery opponent turns out to be Lord Tensai who had a brief promo earlier in the night, the facial expression Cena gave as Tensai came down the ramp is a good lesson to any young wrestler about how to sell the threat of a monster heel.

Cena is always good against big guys and this was a short but solid outing for Tensai, although I wouldn't have had Cena suplex him twice even if he did no sell the first one, and the Otunga run-in was another thing a monster should not be needing, but the finish with Tensai spitting the Muta mist in Cena's eyes and then hitting him with the choke bomb was good, Tensai looked menacing in the after-match posing as Cena sold the eyes well in the corner.

Overall a fun show that had two good matches, decent promo work and a solid build towards Extreme Rules.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE Raw Supershow - April 16, 2012

1. CM Punk vs. Mark Henry for the WWE Championship - Strong match to start things off with and another very good outing from these two. This match was much more back & forth than their post WM encounter a few weeks back. Punk looked like a determined, focused & resilient champion while Mark Henry came off as a beast that took most of Punk's best shots and just kept coming back. I also liked the fact that the No DQ/No Countout stipulation didn't get in the way of the story. They made solid use of the stips without going overboard with them. The end comes when Henry misses a charge on Punk in the corner where he smashes against a chair that he set up there earlier in the match. Punk climbed the top rope with the steel chair and delivered the Macho Man style elbow drob with the chair. Punk gets the win & retains a little past the 13 minute mark. The hot London crowd didn't hurt things either. ***1/2

Chris Jericho & CM Punk - After the match, Jericho pops up on screen & does his thing by going after Punk's family and all the alcoholism references. He then showed footage recorded on a cell phone showing Punk going into a pub and leaving afterward. It was a simple but effective way to move things along. Even though Punk said that he was only there hanging out with friends, which is believable of course, you have to wonder, kayfabe, if Jericho's taunts are getting to Punk and he did down a few. The segment also made it official for Extreme Rules that they'd meet for the title in a Chicago Street Fight. Overall solid verbal exchange and progression of the story. Thumbs Up

2. Santino Marella vs. David Otunga for the WWE United States Championship - Nothing to speak of here. Typical Santino shenanigans with Otunga ultimately coming up looking like the fool. Santino was really over with the London crowd and they ate up what he was doing. Otunga hits Santino with his finisher and botches the cover. Although he gets the three count, Santino's foot was on the ropes. Santino soon comes back and hits the Cobra for the win at the 2.5 minute mark. I'm kind of over Santino's schtick and I'd prefer that they got the title off him. He's just not doing it any favors. 1/2*

Brock Lesnar - This was a great overall presentation. It featured a sit down interview with Lesnar and showed footage & still photos of some of his career high points in both WWE & UFC. This promo definitely had an MMA style of feeling about it. Lesnar was basically being himself and it works. The fact that the guy is a legitimate badass only makes it easier to see him as a threat to anyone & everyone on the WWE roster. Lesnar's choice words for Cena felt real and left me surprised. The past few times we've heard Lesnar talk, he's impressed me. There's nothing flashy about him talking or on how he said things, but they had a definite ring of legitimacy about them. Thumbs Up

Kane & Zack Ryder - This was going to be a match but it never got started. Kane attacks Ryder before the match and beats him down for a bit before hitting a strong looking chokeslam. Kane then got on the mic and briefly talked about Orton and how easy it was to get the better of him on SD! last week. Nothing particularly good about this but it wasn't bad either. It was just kinda there. Thumbs In The Middle

Daniel Bryan - This is a brief backstage interaction with Kofi Kingston standing around talking to AJ. Bryan comes around the corner and gets a huge pop. He accuses Kofi of trying to hit on AJ, though he says that he's not interested in her, and says that doesn't mean that guys should just come sniffing around. He gets in Kofi's face and talks trash for a minute before saying he'll make him tap to the LaBell Lock. Bryan then has an idea and says he's going to call it the "Yes!" Lock, as he asked who LaBell ever beat. Bryan then launched into a series of intense "Yes!" chants with the live crowd eating it up. Very nice showing for Bryan here. Not only did he come off like a douche, but he came off like an extremely confident douche. Renaming the move while simultaneously dissing a legend was a nice touch. Thumbs Up

John Cena - Very good, intense mic work from John Cena here. When Cena is in an intense, serious mind set, then he can really give some of the best promos in the business. Cena also did a great job of putting over Lesnar as a threat, not that it takes a lot of effort, but Cena acknowledging that he's "afraid" is a rarity that you don't hear. He'd gotten a lot of the usual "Let's Go Cena, Cena Sucks" chants but after he said he was "afraid", the crowd was kinda quiet. They weren't expecting him to say that at all. Cena declaring, heatedly, that he was coming to Extreme Rules to fight before being interrupted by Big Johnny worked nicely. Big Johnny says that Cena will be in an ER match tonight against a mystery opponent. Good work here from Cena. Thumbs Up

3. Kofi Kingston vs. Daniel Bryan - Strong, back & forth outing from these two. The live crowds have really been into Bryan the past few weeks especially and he & Kofi put on a strong tv match. Kofi is one of these guys that has good chemistry with almost anyone, therefore is capable of having good matches with almost anyone. Same with Bryan. Bryan looked resilient as he took most of Kofi's best shots & signature spots and Kofi gave Bryan a competetive 10.5 minute match. The end comes with Kingston attempting the High Cross Body off the top and Bryan side stepping it. Bryan then locks in the "Yes! Lock" to Kofi and forces Kofi to tap. Backstage, AJ is watching the match and has a shy smile on her face after Bryan wins. Bryan goes back and locks in the move again while the crowd chants "Yes!" repeatedly. Sheamus' music hits and he comes out for the save, Bryan ducks a Brogue Kick and scurries out of the ring. He backs up the ramp with a smile on his face while Sheamus helps Kofi. Strong performance overall from Bryan tonight especially. ***

4. Brodus Clay vs. Dolph Ziggler - The match barely got started before Swagger interferred. Ziggler deserves better than this, quite frankly. Clay wins via DQ due to Swagger's interference and the London crowd popped big for Clay. N/A

Jay Strongbow Tribute - I was surprised that they showed this again. It was a nice presentation of Strongbow. Strongbow was very close to Vince, Vince loved the guy quite frankly, and Strongbow was loyal to both him & his father. The London crowd gave the video a nice round of applause. Classy segment all around. It's just too bad that WWE doesn't do this with all their former guys who've passed. Thumbs Up

5. The Big Show & The Great Khali vs. Epico & Primo - This pissed me off. Epico & Primo are a couple of talented guys in the ring and they deserve better than a 2 minute squash against the giants, especially as they're the reigning tag champs. AW was out on stage watching things, observing and I can only hope that this is a step towards something better for these two. N/A

6. John Cena vs. Lord Tensai - Solid effort in my view from these two with a surprising ending that worked in my view. Tensai looked strong against Cena and probably controlled two thirds of the match in general. There was some interference from Otunga, though it was mostly mild stuff such as tossing Cena back into the ring. Cena does make a come back and goes for the Five Knuckle Shuffle before Otunga interferes again, only to eat an AA. Tensai then spits the green mist into Cena's eyes and then hits him with the chokebomb for the three count at the 10 minute mark. It's very, very rare to see Cena lose on Raw. Given the stipulations of the match, which means no DQ, Tensai technically got a clean win over Cena. Cena did a great job of selling the mist in his eyes while over in the corner. He kept saying he couldn't see and was asking for water to wash his eyes out. There seemed to be some panic in his voice, which adds a nice little subtext to it as most people are naturally skiddish when it comes to their eyes. **3/4

Final Thoughts - This was a strong show overall, far superior to last week's effort. As I suspected, last week's show seemed to be filler to give the wrestlers sort of a break before embarking on the European tour. There was strong overall wrestling content on this week's show. Punk vs. Henry & Bryan vs. Kingston were both great, competetive matches with Punk & Bryan both getting decisive wins. Cena vs. Tensai was also a good match in my opinion, not as good as the two I just mentioned, but a solid tv match with a good ending. The rest of the matches weren't worth anything. The Brock Lesnar promo was very well done as was John Cena's response. I dig the fact that they seem to be going with a storyline of Cena not being what he used to be. After all, he's had a lousy 2.5 weeks. He loses to The Rock clean at WM, Lesnar lays him out the next night, Lesnar busts his mouth open last week & lays him out again to close last week's show and now he loses to Lord Tensai. Punk & Jericho had a good verbal exchange and Daniel Bryan did a great job overall progressing himself along. He seems to get better to me each week. The R-Truth skits were stupid, but at least they were short, and the tag squash match got on my nerves especially. Other than that, I thought it was a strong show.

Grade: B+

 

[blue_dragon]

This Monday Night Raw was just fine. No need to bitch and complain on this one. Booking was good with Lesnar giving a good interview and Cena saying something back. On the side note he should not have said that he was afraid but that he will fight and fight and fight. That line was good. (Just a small thing. Nothing big.)

Lord Tensai vs Cena was good although a bit to soon. They needed to give him more matches but if this sets up a future feud it was well placed.

Cena vs Mark. Not a bad match although obvious. Punk/Jericho segment was good although I didn't like how they just cut it off without a second notice. I'm still wondering why the hell I'm far more into Cena/Brock than this. What is not clicking with this feud? Do these guys have no chemistry?

I mean I still remember HBK/Y2J 08. It was just sucha class feud overall. They had sucha connection that it almost hurt and felt so real. So this personal feud right now why doesn't it just click with me? Isn't it because both are really that similar although one is heel and the other one is face?

IMO so far Punk had far more chemistry with guys like Cena, HHH and Nash than Jericho and it's just hard to put the finger on what it is that's missing.

Jesus, some of you REALLY need to learn a thing or two about how markets change.

STOP looking at the number. The business of entertainment through media is changing so rapidly that even looking at numbers from say this time last year is probably skewed.

Think about this, me, my girlfriend, two of my cousins, and one of my best friends all watch Raw......none of us have cable or DirectTV.

Ratings, as other posters and I have stated, is OUTDATED. Look at the POSITION of the ratings if anything. I didn't look up 4/9's ratings, but they were number 1 in cable the 4 weeks prior to that.

The problem isn't the WWE, it's not "John Cena is stale" (he's not, they've evolved his character well and he's still...you know...massively fucking over), it's YOU. YOU the average poster on here. YOU literally don't know how to properly interpret things or think critically.

Because outdated is outdated.

Agreed to what you are saying here. The thing is Television in itself is going out of style by not understanding where the future money lies.

It's on the internet. Internet has not been as popular as it is now probably ever. And it will only increase in popularity with more people worldwide keep getting it.

So here we go WWE is smart enough to understand the power of social media and yet they fail (they are not alone) to understand that the future is still in the forms of streaming things online/downloading.

So what should WWE be doing right now if they are half as smart as they pretend to be? Well obvious answer would be to let people stream their show live/download it in HD. Also PPV's. But if members want to join that part of the site they would need to pay a certain monthly fee. This is something porn industry been doing successfully for years and yet entertainment industry is not wise enough to figure this out?

Now add all the views from here and the ratings and you might get a far greater number.

I just hate how this industry is so arrogant and think they can stop the piracy. Instead of fighting it they should encourage people to do things online on their on site.

 

[The Eighties]

Not a bad Smackdown, Daniel Bryan is getting more comfortable with his character each week and the segments with him and AJ are great. I'm glad Bryan hasn't gotten into a rut with the vegan role model stuff and his focus is more intense towards his rematch with Sheamus.

AJ snapping in her match with Natlya was done the best it could be by both women, as it's not easy to make it look like AJ could give Nattie a beat down.

The taped promos from Damien Sandow are well done and should help with his debut, plus it was good to see Cesaro making his first SD appearance, although I thought he'd be with Regal, instead there was the hint of an Oksana heel turn.

Brodus continues on his dance and squash routine, I thought they were going to do something with him and Santino as a team but nothing has happened since.

Ryback racked up another squash, he moves well and hits his power spots crisply, I think they need to up the quality of opponent soon though.

The debut tag match of Darren Young and Titus O'Neil was ok, certainly better than their promo.

Big Show vs Del Rio was a decent match, I really liked Del Rio's offense in this, he worked in some clever spots to ground and dissect Show that got him over as a "surgeon" as Booker likes to call him.

The six man tag main event was lengthy and a good match with every guy in it getting a chance to shine and 2 of SD's main feuds getting developed physically, Mark Henry sells the RKO for the finish like a king.

 

[thatotherguy]

Smackdown, 4/20

Daniel Bryan segment: I wasn't feeling this segment. It wasn't bad or anything, and Bryan's made huge strides on the mic, but on the whole, there wasn't anything that popped out about me. AJ is also improving on the mic, but she still needs work.

AJ vs. Natalya: I wish they'd allowed a match to take place here. AJ and Natlya could have put on quite a good match. Still, I understand what they were doing from a storyline perspective, so I won't complain. No rating for this match.

Damien Sandow speaks again: I consider myself fairly well spoken, but I still didn't understand much of that promo. Admittedly I was pretty tired. I think, on the whole, it made sense, and he had an actual argument, so good job to him. Hope he debuts soon though.

Brodus Clay vs. Hunico: I would have liked there to be an actual match attached, as I think Hunico could have given Clay a pretty good match. Still, halfway decent squash. 1/5.

O'Neil and Young Promo: These two need work on their promos, but this was still decent. They're good at being cocky, but the deliver was mushy.

O'Neil & Young vs. The Usos: Hey an actual tag match! This wasn't anything special, mind, but I can't call it outright bad. The Uso's look to be pretty over, and I would like to see them do more than put over new teams. Still, some good back and forth stuff. I do think Darren Young in particular needs some work on his in-ring action. 2/5.

Del Rio vs. Big Show: This was good. Del Rio look legitimately strong against the Big Show, and Cody's interference protected the Intercontinental Champion. There was some good back and forth action between Del Rio and the Big Show. 3/5.

Ryback vs. Some British Jobber: The squash was...well a squash, but WWE should know better than to put a British jobber in front of a British crowd while trying to get Ryback over as a face. 0.5/5.

Askana, Antonia Cesareo, Teddy Long (in a non-speaking role) and Mr. Excitement: Hmm...I know Laurinaitis had Teddy play the role of British guard at some point, but I can't find it. Ah well. This segment was mostly about Cesareo, who should be a big player on Smackdown. Meanwhile, Teddy has something to be jealous about. Not bad, but didn't stand out to me as being worth it.

Daniel Bryan, Mark Henry + Cody Rhodes vs. World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus, WWE Intercontinental Champion The Big Show + Randy Orton: Before we get started, what was the point of the Great Khali thing? I suppose to justify having Big Show pull double duty, but it just seemed out of place. Fun six man tag with the faces, unsurprisingly, pulling out the victory. I liked the finish and it was nice to see the main event end without interference for a change. 3.5/5

Overall: This show didn't stand out to me, but it wasn't bad. There just didn't seem to be a focus or a drive. For example, I was never feeling particularly excited about the main event, even while it was happening. 6/10.

 

[uguess94]

Ok so the signing just ended and I really have to say that was probably the slowest, no point or finish, awkward contract signing I have ever seen. First off it starts the show and we see a whole bunch of crap that ends with Edge (wtf does he have to do with this) coming out and saying crap to Cena. Then we wait until the Main Event to do it and we get the entrance of Lesnar, then we should be seeing Cena, his music and video play and nothing. Ok so now for some odd reason Brock Lesnar starts rambling for about 5 minutes on how now that hes here things have to change (said it like 20 times), then he names them he wants more perks and now RAW is apparently called "Monday Night Raw Starring Brock Lesnar". Whatever.........then Lesnar signs and Cena finally comes out wearing his thuganomics chain and wraps it around his wrist while entering the ring, him and Lesnar stare for a good 2 minutes the Brock yells at him to sign it and Cena does. They flip the table (which was like a marble table not the traditional wood. idk why) and Brock slowly leaves the ring and the show ends.

WTF was that. So basically we have JL being a bitch to Lesnar, Cena doesnt say anything and doesnt explain why he didnt come out the first time, and Brock apparently is God himself and we should all bow down to him.

For a 3-hour RAW I thought it was decent considering they pretty much got every storyline in but the Cena/Lesnar angles were terribly bad.

Thoughts on show?

 

[a member of wwe universe]

The contract signing segment was over done and confuses everybody. The chain and the no show entrance makes no sense. Brock actually spoke in solo for 5-10 minutes really really really? WWE should know better than anyone that Lesnar is not a promo guy and thats not what he is about.

Im beginning to think the wwe has a tendency to screw up the last segment in every 3 hour show. They always present these long ass 20 minute promo only to turn out stale and irrelevant. Perhpas they want to extend it longer given that last segment is the whole attraction of the night.

You look back to previous 3 hour segments and they all ended with a 20 minute like stale segment.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I thought last night's show was pretty solid, a good B- to maybe a B. It was one of the better three hour Raws I think, especially since the first hour wasn't bogged down with feeble comedy matches & skits like we've seen with many three hour specials in the past.

The opening segment was very well done & Edge showing up was a great surprise. Edge's promo was fantastic in my view. Everything from the tone of voice, to his facial expressions to the way he was moving was spot on. Cena, to me, looked downright timid and I was interested to see where they went with it. After all, when's the last time John Cena looked timidly humble?

Kofi vs. Jericho was a strong, competetive 12 minute match that saw a lot of solid near falls and good back & forth action. I never thought Jericho was even remotely in danger of losing, but Kofi made him work for it, so I gave it 3 stars. Jericho's promo following the match was solid and set a good tone for what could come later in the show.

Show & Khali vs. Rhodes & Del Rio was pretty decent 10.5 minute match, though the ending brought it down. It made no sense to me as the heels looked to be firmly in control and Del Rio took a powder after catching a chop from Big Show? Booking 101 suggests that Cody will get his title back at ER, depending upon what the stipulation turns out to be. I gave the match 2 stars, could've been a bit higher with a better ending.

The Kane & Orton stuff was ok in my view. I don't know why people piss & moan about Kane on the mic. I think the guy does a good job on the mic, especially now that he's left behind the fake maniacal laugh.

The match with Bryan, Sheamus & Henry was very well booked. While I would have liked to have seen a real match, Bryan was great in his role out there. The segment did a good job of weaving the story around Sheamus being unable to hit a ref and Bryan screwing Sheamus out of a win was a nice touch. I thought the ending was perfect with Bryan taking Sheamus down & putting him in the YES! Lock.

The Divas match was better than I expected. They actually got about 5 minutes, which is about 3.5 minutes more than I expected. The ending was anti-climactic, but it's being reported that Beth has, at the very least, a severely sprained ankle. WWE.com is saying that she's going to undergo an MRI to see if there's any other damage. I'm not sure if this means the Bellas are staying or if they just had to improvise an ending to the match on the spot.

The Punk & Jericho sobriety test, to me, was fun. I saw it coming a mile away but I thought Punk did a very convincing job of someone under the influence. It was realistic and not some overly exaggerated bit like you usually see in movies or on tv. He played to the live crowd well and they ate it up. After weeks of Jericho getting the best of him, I think Punk did need to even things up a bit.

I did not like the two tag matches they had later in the show. Primo & Epico have worked hard and done a good job. What happened to the renewed emphasis on the tag division? They lose a 3 minute match to Santino & Ryder. The match with Brodus Clay & Hornswoggle against Swagger & Ziggler just pissed me off, just flat out pissed me off. Ziggler has shown himself to be far too good to be wasted on garbage like that.

I've read some complaints about the contract signing but, personally, I dug it. I'm glad that they didn't go the traditional route of the contract signing brawl. It's been done to death and the story told here was far more interesting in my eyes. It did seem to drag a bit as Lesnar just isn't all that great on the mic for long periods of time. However, at the same time, he's doing his best and I thought it was passable. WWE did a good job here of turning a lot of people against Lesnar by painting Lesnar as a true, 100% prick that doesn't care about WWE. All in all, I thought they did a good job of drawing on Lesnar's history, especially his history as it's looked at by the IWC with him leaving and all. Cena coming out and acting scared of Lesnar, to me, was interesting. Of all the bitching & moaning I've heard & read over the years from fans going on about SuperCena, I thought it was a very different sense of Cena last night. Cena came across as timid and even outright scared of Lesnar, which was the whole point. It's an interesting twist that shows a much more human side of John Cena and certainly a twist we didn't see coming.

All in all, I enjoyed last night's show. The ER matches all got some good final hype. The wrestling action was middle of the road with Jericho vs. Kofi being the only real standout match. Show & Khali vs. Rhodes & Del Rio could have been better, but it was still much better than I was expecting. The Punk vs. Jericho, Sheamus vs. Bryan & Cena vs. Lesnar stories all got good hype and I like that we saw about the exact opposite of SuperCena last night. The show did drag some, which isn't surprising as these three hour shows always tend to drag some. But, all in all, I thought it was a solid show.

 

[akrassikauda]

WOW! For those smarks who said Lesnar is better than Cena on the mic WOW! Damn Lesnar & Rock proved they can't do a live promo for shit without help. That was GAWD AWEFUL.

The opening segment was really good. I like the surprise by Edge the words he spoke and the way he did it was masterful he really made you believe it because their was truth to it. Cena was his biggest rival,he's lacking confidence since losing to the Rock. Cena needs to beat Brock, Why? Well we found that out later in that GAWD AWEFUL promo.

The Y2J vs Kofi was the match of the night I give it an A+ overall I give the first 30 minutes of RAW an A+ the rest of the night was typical WWE giving their bare minimum a few good spots,like Orton kidnapping Paul Bearer and Kane not giving a shit. Nikki Bella new Divas champ ehh! Brodus Clay w/ Hornswaggle, Ryder w/ Santino like who the fuck wrote this shit,it's ass backwards. Wasn't Santino and Brodus teaming up now you switch it up and make the fans go AAAAARGH! Like Charlie Brown. R Truth became Tensai's latest squash. OMG a Alex Riley sighting.

Punk vs Jericho needs to end. Not because it's not entertaining because after ER what else is there. The Punk drunk segment was good. Boy can he play a drunk and he's right about one thing. Nobody drunk or sober can recite the alphabet backwards under pressure.

Overall I give it a D because of that GAWD AWEFUL Lesnar promo/contract signing.zzzzZZZZ!

 

[The Eighties]

One of the better 3 hour Raw's there has been, I didn't feel like much of it dragged as is often the case with the 3 hour Raw's.

Edge's promo was superb, not only did it cover the angle but it made sense due to Edge's rivalry with Cena and it cemented what the video had laid out about why Brock is back, plus it all played into the final segment as Brock went further with his disdain for wrestling fans and the business.

I've noticed on quite a few house show reports that Jericho and Kofi have been working together and it showed in their match, it was a good contest with the rhythm of two guys who are used to each other's style.

I honestly can't remember anything about the Show/Khali vs Rhodes/Del Rio match except for the finish which made no sense.

Sheamus vs Henry wasn't really a match so much as it was a good piece of storyline development for the WHC feud, Bryan was once again excellent and Sheamus is doing ok in his role, but I don't think he's really getting the reactions WWE had hoped for.

The Divas title match was better than expected, I think both Bellas have improved greatly. When Cole brought up Beth being close to having the longest reign ever I had a feeling she was going to lose, however I don't think the injury was a work and credit to the Divas, they called a finish on the fly. I suspect the Bellas will be used to put Kharma over on the way out if indeed they are leaving.

We all knew what was going to happen with the sobriety test but it was executed really well, Jericho, like Bryan, has no interest in being the cool heel, both are just outright obnoxious bastards and play perfect foils for the face they work with. Punk was good as the drunk and entertaining when he turned the tables on Jericho before beating the crap out of him, ideal segment to lead into their Chicago street fight this Sunday.

Somewhere amongst this Paul Bearer was killed again, Tensai did another squash and got mocked as usual, and there were two dreadful tag matches. I have no issue with comedy acts like Brodus and Santino but when you start wasting guys like Ziggler and the tag champs in matches with them it's a classic case of WWE not knowing where the line is. Guys like Santino, Brodus and Hornswaggle should be kept together at the very least.

The contract signing went a bit long but the content of Big Johnny now being worried he's made a deal with the devil when it comes to Brock was great, and I think this is where they are going with Brock, playing off the reality of who he is and why he's back then upping it with him wanting to be essentially bigger than the business. Cena's part in this was interesting, he sells fear of the monster the way classic 80's Hogan used to, but he stood a long time with his chain wrapped around his hand looking scared.

This Raw was light on quality in ring action but did a good job of promoting the three main matches for this Sunday's PPV.

 

[prosenfi]

The ending of Raw was brilliant! I did not see that coming, and I can honestly say that I have not enjoyed an ending to Raw that much since the debut of the Nexus!