Official Raw/Smackdown Aftermath, Ratings and Review Thread

[closet_fan]

Considering most people were going to watch last night's RAW to see if Undertaker was going to show up, I'm not sure why you'd have him come out right at the beginning. It made zero sense. I am sure they could have figured out a way to get Punk in a match at the end of the show and then have Taker come out. Don't you want people to watch the entire 3 hours to see if he actually shows up?

And what made it worse was Punk coming out right after and saying "Yeah I'm fighting Undertaker at Wrestlemania." It made the fatal four way worthless. Like anyone was actually going to believe any of the other 3 guys had a chance?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Considering most people were going to watch last night's RAW to see if Undertaker was going to show up, I'm not sure why you'd have him come out right at the beginning. It made zero sense. I am sure they could have figured out a way to get Punk in a match at the end of the show and then have Taker come out. Don't you want people to watch the entire 3 hours to see if he actually shows up?

And what made it worse was Punk coming out right after and saying "Yeah I'm fighting Undertaker at Wrestlemania." It made the fatal four way worthless. Like anyone was actually going to believe any of the other 3 guys had a chance?

How did it make zero sense exactly? People saw that Taker was there and since he didn't do anything except come out and raise the lights, they were intrigued to see what he'd do later on in the night, hence they had to stay tuned in.

I fail to see how it made the fatal fourway worthless. Number 1: It was hyped as a major match featuring four of the top stars in WWE in the ring at one time. Number 2: None of those four men had a match scheduled for WM yet, so the possibility of someone other than Punk coming out with a win was possible. Unlikely I grant but you have to remember that not everyone goes trolling through the net trying to find potential spoilers for upcoming matches. Number 3: Given that the winner of this match would face The Undertaker at WrestleMania, people would no doubt expect Undertaker to make an appearance and tuned in for the purpose of seeing if he would. When the numbers for the Raw segments come out later this week, it's all but written in the stars that the main event will be the most watched part of Raw.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I thought last night was pretty terrible for a "Road To Wrestleamnia" RAW... Don't get me wrong there were a few segments that were great, but for the most part it was a letdown. They should never have a gimmick style show on the road to Mania. It would have been better to have it a few weeks after Mania when they could have dedicated more time to the actual old school instead of just throwing them into random segments.

My biggest gripes:

-Jack Swagger beating up American heroes was kind of stupid... He would have gotten more heat if he beat up a Mexican star. If I was WWE I would have brought Mil Mascaras in and let Swagger rough Del Rio's uncle up a bit, which would have fueled the fire and made more sense when Del Rio attacked Swagger backstage for his actions... Did anybody really buy into Del Rio defending Duggan, Slaughter, or Rhodes.

Duggan, Slaughter & Rhodes are three beloved legends. Frankly, most fans today don't know who Mil Mascaras is and I doubt most would give a damn if he did. So if given a choice between watching Swagger beating up an old man wearing a mask that they don't know about and/or have no feelings of nostalgia towards or beating up three wrestlers they grew up watching with their dads or brothers or whatever; most fans are going to go with the latter. Swagger beat up three beloved legends who also happen to be old men who have wrestled as a patriotic soldier, a flat out all around patriot or a blue collar working man's patriot. They're the "real patriots" and showed a contrast to Swagger's totalitarian view of what America should be.

-The Rock is continuing to be dreadfully boring on the microphone. There's not even a feeling of excitement when he comes to the ring anymore. I don't know if that's a testament to the PG style WWE now works or what, but he just bores me. The only thing he's done since coming back that I've appreciated is kayfabe getting rid of that tacky spinning pile of shit they tried to put over as the WWE championship for years.

Yeah, I call bullshit on this one. YOU might not have a feeling of excitement anymore, that's all well and good, but I saw 16,000+ come unglued when The Rock came out last night. They came unglued just like every other crowd in every other arena and hang on every word he says and every gesture he makes.

-A lot of my gripes last night had to do with the Undertaker. What point was there to bring him out at the beginning of the show if he wasn't going to do anything? Oh, what? The WWE universe had an idea he was going to show up? They thought he was going to be there for the past few weeks too. They should have just had Punk come out and challenge for the streak, and then continue on with the same path they had taken instead of ruining the Taker's return at the beginning.

As I said in another post, Taker showing up at the top of the show was basically a tease. People saw him, yet he didn't do anything. So when it was announced that the winner of a fourway bout would take on Taker at WM, I'm willing to bet that people tuned in in droves to see who the winner would be and see if Taker would make another appearance. Taker just appearing suddenly at the start of the show was a surprise. All he did was show up. Now the real treat, potentially, comes when Taker & Punk build up their upcoming match.

This is WrestleMania season and WWE isn't going to blow it's load in only a couple of shows. There's still a month left until WM and there's still plenty of time to build the top matches and the matches for the undercard. People will tune in next week to see if Lesnar shows up and, if he does, if he'll accept Triple H's challenge & if there'll be another confrontations. They'll tune in to see if Punk & Taker confront one another in the ring. Plus, as I said, there are some undercard matches left to build, including a probable six man tag featuring Orton, Sheamus & Show taking on The Shield.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

Duggan, Slaughter & Rhodes are three beloved legends. Frankly, most fans today don't know who Mil Mascaras is and I doubt most would give a damn if he did. So if given a choice between watching Swagger beating up an old man wearing a mask that they don't know about and/or have no feelings of nostalgia towards or beating up three wrestlers they grew up watching with their dads or brothers or whatever; most fans are going to go with the latter. Swagger beat up three beloved legends who also happen to be old men who have wrestled as a patriotic soldier, a flat out all around patriot or a blue collar working man's patriot. They're the "real patriots" and showed a contrast to Swagger's totalitarian view of what America should be.

I understand why they did it, I just felt like it would have made more sense to have them beat up a non-American considering that's the whole angle they're going with, regardless of how subtle they're going about it. And they just inducted Mascaras into the Hall of Fame in 2012 and he appeared on Wrestlemania during the Hall of Fame portion of the show... And they have made mention many times that Del Rio is his nephew... Hell, JBL tells us every time he's commentating.

For the sake of argument nobody really knew who the hell Chavo Guerrero Sr. was either, but that didn't stop them from bringing him in back in the day for angles.

Yeah, I call bullshit on this one. YOU might not have a feeling of excitement anymore, that's all well and good, but I saw 16,000+ come unglued when The Rock came out last night. They came unglued just like every other crowd in every other arena and hang on every word he says and every gesture he makes.

Yeah, I was referring to my own feelings. I realize a lot of people are still in awe of the Rock, and will always hang on his every word. But for me he's less than a shell of what he was back in his heyday, and it's saddening to see him cut lame promo after lame promo. It all comes down to a matter of opinion and I was simply giving mine.

Taker just appearing suddenly at the start of the show was a surprise. All he did was show up. Now the real treat, potentially, comes when Taker & Punk build up their upcoming match.

It wasn't really that big of a surprise though considering WWE sent out a "I have risen" text not long before the show went on the air, and had an Undertaker emblem on the WWE App, which almost every fan is using now. To me it just didn't make much sense for him to just come out and play with the lights then go backstage... It would have made more sense for him to come to the ring and start a promo only to have Punk interrupt, and then have all the rest come out talking their game while Taker was staring them all down. Again, it's a matter of opinion and preference.

 

[Jtrivera]

So rewind back to old school Raw on Monday, there was a good one on one match between A Heel Dolph Ziggler and a face Miz, with a face Ric Flair and a heel Big E and Aj, I was thinking back to when Miz was a heel, and I was just wondering, what if Miz stayed heel and ended up with Aj and Big E, because back then the Miz had a cocky smug bully attitude that Langston could have easily backed up, and they could have done alot more for Aj, which would also have meant Dolph could have turned face and have been mentored by Flair...the guy would have gotten a hell of alot more pops then the Miz, what would you have rather seen?

 

[mojmass]

I agree with the part of ziggler working with flair. he would do much more better than miz is doing right now. but about the trio that you mentioned the miz big E and aj ... oh hell no. during his heel time miz was an arrogant ,back stabber and coward kind of a guy , not a good choice for a position like that. this trio would be disbande from the very beginning of it.
i think WWE did their best choice or at least they choose the lesser of two evil.
I would more like to see ziggler and his trio turn face and join force with the miz and ric flair they would make a pretty solid stable and I wouldn't be exaggerating if i say they can become another evolution but this time a face one because there is no way i want to see the miz as a heel again anytime soon.

 

[The Eighties]

I'm not sure why but that seemed like a longer Raw than usual, maybe was the amount of short segments. Using Paul Bearer as the through-line to keep the Punk/Taker angle in focus worked, even if I really don't care for the route they are going.I also could do without the heavy shilling of their B movies.

Punk's opening promo at least was smart rather than just flat out disrespectful, Taker shot him a great death stare.

The first hour had the best stuff with a very good Ziggler vs Bryan match that Ziggler actually won. I think these two work as well together as almost any combination in the WWE right now. Langston hit his finisher on Bryan post-match and I think I see a tag title match taking shape for Mania.

Show vs Rollins is up next, it's a very short match that results in the inevitable attack from all 3 members of The Shield. The powerbomb on Show is impressive.

There's a training video hyping Triple H and Lesnar's feud, it's pretty well done like most WWE promo vids.

The Rhodes Scholars version of the NAO entrance spiel was funny but as I thought the Outlaws were there as a pawn in the Brock angle. It's always great to see Brock, I just wish he'd laid more damage on them instead of just an F5 each. Heyman's promo was strong as always, he accepted the match for Brock with the proviso that they pick the stip and HHH must sign the contract before they tell him what it is, I just hope they get that done next week as opposed to HHH accepting next week and then drawing the actual signing out until the week after that.

There's a fun segment between Rhodes, Kaitlyn and Sandow backstage that reveals that the Bellas are back, I guess Cena wanted his girl on the road with him. Vickie also tells the Scholars that they have to work Orton and Sheamus tonight since their original match never happened.

Somewhere during the next 90 minutes there was some boring Swagger and Del Rio stuff, the US champ was jobbed out again, Fandango had another non-debut and hit on Naomi and Mark Henry had a fun squash match with Kofi.

I did like the Henry and Ryback segment with them trying to outdo each other by hitting their finishers on McIntyre, Ryback still mostly comes off as a tool but this simple feud is perfect for him, I just hope the match between the 2 on Smackdown ends in a no contest so they can face each other at Mania, I also hope that Ryback sorts out the meat-hook clothesline, it looks shit these days.

Orton and Sheamus vs The Rhodes Scholars was a good match, no prizes for guessing how it ended. Post-match The Shield attack Orton and Sheamus with Rollins hitting Orton with a great looking flying knee to the head off the stage.

I think this is where the Miz, Barrett and Y2j Highlight Reel took place, absolutely dreadful segment that even had Cole burying it. Jericho looked pissed, and I have no idea what Brad Maddox is trying to do but it comes off like he's clueless and has forgotten his lines.

This lead to a short match between Y2J and Miz with Barrett on commentary, it ends in a no contest when Barrett attacks Jericho, the faces then turn the tables and hit their finishers on Barrett. The aftermath of this is Vickie booking a triple threat match for the IC title next week.

Punk vs Kane was a solid main event, Punk is in control when Taker's gong goes off and he gets distracted, Kane beats him with a weak looking Chokeslam. Post-match beat-down with the urn was ok but then Punk ran off with it like a sneaky bandit and things morphed into an angle from the mid-90's, in fact Kama is probably filing for angle royalties as I type.

Not a great show but not a terrible one, like most 3 hour Raw's it had decent moments amidst the dreck. Funniest thing all night was Lawler talking so earnestly about Punk's disrespect of Bearer while the man who said worse about his dead mother sat right next to him, Lost in Cleveland!!!

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I feel like the IWC has gotten to me because the two things that stand out tonight was how much more I enjoyed the heels and how disappointed I feel that Punk lost. What the hell is wrong with me?

Punk's opening was well done and not too distasteful. The tribute was pretty much over.

The Shield are killing me with their facial expressions. All three look like Jeff Daniels having massive diarrhea in Dumb and Dumber. Their facial expressions are so distracting, I figure it tricks their opponent in to not knowing what to do.

Rhodes Scholars NAO parody was terrific. It wasn't deep thoughtful writing but perfect for a stupid wrestling show.

Lesnar's beatdown and Heyman's subsequent promo were terrific. They couldn't have picked two better guys on the show for that beatdown.

Brad Maddox (I think he's a heel) is either a genius or a nut. His mic work is like a car crash or William Hung.

Otherwise the rest was what it was. I think Sin Cara looked pretty good in a loss to Swagger but I wasn't really paying attention since I realized this was the same Jack Swagger as the last Jack Swagger. Bryan and Ziggler was fine but I expect better. I have lost all faith in Bob E Langston to be much of anything. Sheamus/Orton vs. Rhodes Scholars was probably my favorite match but I have no idea why. Didn't care for the Cena/Rock promo. Not sure if the dirt sheets didn't pick up on the triumphant return of the Bellas beforehand or just figured no one would care. Very excited to watch Henry and Ryback have a fight that could play on National Geographic and WWE. Too many fuckin' movies. I am enjoying Michael Cole more and more each week. Curious to see if Kaitlyn is the catalyst to break up Rhodes Scholars and give Cody a face run. More curious to see if the stolen urn storyline continues next week. Mostly curious to see when/if WWE will have all six top main eventers on one show.

Brickie out!

 

[chris21]

I thought it was a great first hour last night which gradually got worse and worse. First hour had me thinking this could be the best Raw show for a good while but as always it didn't really take off for me. The Fantango segment was shocking and as for the Y2J/Barrett/Miz/Maddox segment, my God awful. Swagger and Zeb's segments continue to drag for me, not sure whether that's because the crowd just don't get into it though.

Onto the main event. Now the first segment between Taker/Punk/Kane and the Paul Bearer was great, tasteful and Punk interrupting was fine, Bearer wouldn't have had it any other way. But Kane beating Punk later in the night was a very stupid decision. Are we now supposed to believe Punk can beat the Undertaker and end the streak after he lost to Kane on Raw? I know it was a Paul Bearer tribute but I'd have understood Kane winning if he was on one of his monster spells like when he returned with the mask. Now he's in a comedy tag team, he shouldn't be beating Punk in a singles match. Its hard enough to believe anyone will end the streak as it is but now we're supposed to believe that CM Punk will end the streak? A guy who now lost to the Rock twice, Cena and now Kane in a matter of months? If they wanted to have Kane win a match and have a tribute to Bearer why not just have Kane and Taker beat down a few guys like Raw 1000? Or even have the Brothers of destruction win a tag match?

Little bit of a rant. It wasn't a terrible show but it promised much but didn't deliver for me. Completely baffled me having Punk lose to Kane too.

 

[Wrestling101]

Am I the only one who thinks Big E's finisher doesn't look like it should hurt anyone?

Rhodes Scholars' NAO intro was GREAT. 'Oh you were not aware of this?' is absolutely great. It's the small, simple things like that that will hopefully get Sandow some future backing for a ME push in a year or more. And while I'm here, please, please bring NAO back for a 6 month run or something. Billy still looks like he can go, and Road Dog still can work the crowd like no one this side of The Rock.

 

[Papa Pillman]

Since I killed creative for last week's show, I'll give credit where its due.

Last night's show was scripted quite well, and most any issues that occurred that dragged down the proceedings were the faults of the talent.

The Highlight Reel segment was dreadful, the recent shilling of WWE films is inexcusable when its working as a detriment to the show. Also Brad Maddox should never get a live mic again.

The Fandango thing has not totally lost me yet, but Curtis's whispery delivery of every word is over the top and off-putting.

The Colter/Swagger/Sin Cara segment played out way too long. I have no problem with the length of Mantel's promo(though the crowd obviously did), but with how it played out, the match should have been cut into something much shorter. A 90-second five or six move squash for Swagger would have worked better for the segment in retrospect.

Also sticking important moments of the show into the commercial breaks as a way to try to get more people to download the mobile app is a bullshit tactic that hurts the broadcast.

The tributes to Paul Bearer were done well and the way the show tied into them was also well conceived. Punk/Kane/Taker all played their roles nicely.

Also, aside from Punk and the Brothers of Destruction, the stars last night were Team Rhodes Scholars. Their segments were gold.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Also Brad Maddox should never get a live mic again.

Yes, that whole segment was strange, wasn't it? Even reading lips, I could see Brad stumbling over his words and hesitating in spots that surely didn't call for it. Still, I couldn't tell whether it was deliberate or not; the fact that Cole and Lawler were dissing Brad, asking if they could cut to a commercial break, pointed to the notion that the whole thing was pre-planned. You wonder what their instructions are as commentators when someone is screwing up a scene.

And hey! Did you see my man McIntyre puttin' it to Mark Henry and Ryback? Damn! Maybe they should start billing Drew as "The Human Pin-cushion!"

As Ron Simmons would say...............SHIT!

Better days await, McIntyre.

 

[Wrestling101]

For a moment there, I thought there was a small (tiny) chance that WWE was setting up for a Brothers of Destruction vs Punk/Bryan tag match at WM (a possibility if UT ws not physically up to carrying a 20 minute match). The set up to the match would be easy, and Kane being the one pinned would A) give Punk/Bryan a big win and a sticking point in that they beat UT, and B) preserve UT's streak, in a way.

 

[Dysturbed]

Kane beating Punk later in the night was a very stupid decision. Are we now supposed to believe Punk can beat the Undertaker and end the streak after he lost to Kane on Raw?

That depends. If we choose to see things from the perspective of Punk being presented as being capable of winning, despite having lost, then yes we can believe that despite losing last night he can in theory win at WM. If he had been completely squashed with no offense or getting out of situations, then I'd go with a definite no. I am not suggesting that my preference was for Kane to win, and we already know the very likely outcome of the WM match, but I still think that, based on presentation, Punk still "looks" like he is a legit contender to break the streak.

 

[boywithbluehanger]

Overall the night was decent. But I just have to mention one thing.

Maddox totally flubbed during that segment. But I would admit that it was bad before he came out because the crowd was dead during Barret's exchange, the set was without the Jeritron, and you could tell that while while Y2J was trying to yell a lot to amp up the crowd, his face told the story that he was just going through the motions. But Maddox was awful with the whole "You!...No...not you...You..Yes you!" when he briefly forgot their names. And he was "searching his brain" for his lines when trying to announce the match decision. He even messed that up too after the fact. I think he may have lost his mic privileges and his "push" after doing that poorly on his own.

 

[Wrestling101]

Can we start a give-Titus O'Neil-more-mic-time petition? Wow, he's turned into a great mic man with a great mix of comedy and seriousness. I'm becoming more of a fan every time he talks. Can WWE spread out their mic time and storylines to the rest of the roster, not just the main event level guys? Tag teams like PTP could really benefit from air time. They're great. Keep them together for a couple of years and let them get as over as they can. Oh, and I never realized before Titus said it so he gets points from me for pointing it out, but holy shit he's right when he said Young looks exactly like a black Cena.

Punk was absolutely great in his 5 minutes of air time tonight. What a great heel. He should give lessons on how to be a heel.

I don't know about anyone else, but I laughed my ass off when Heyman said something like 'although, I think it would be more fitting if the LOSER got Stephanie, wouldn't it?' That was hilarious. Very nice Paul.

 

[Sid Schmid]

I really enjoyed last night's show. Cena's promo was pretty lame until the PTP interupted. O'Neil was gold on the mic. In one or two years he could be main event level.

Punk was again priceless on the mic and now that the feud is personal it will make it an even better match at 'Mania. The wrestling action on the show was generally terrific. The triple threat macth was PPV quality in my opinion. I recently stated my dislike for Fandango on this forum a week ago but last night something clicked for me. That over the top lavish entrance is fantastic and I am enjoying his mic skills. It looks as if the WWE are going ahead with the Jericho/Fandango feud for 'Mania.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Raw was definitely a mixed bag overall, in my opinion, last night.

I thought most of the first 90 minutes of the show were pretty lousy. The matches were crap and there was pretty much no intensity to building things up for WrestleMania. The Rock wasn't at Raw, again, and his absence is one big reason I was hoping he wouldn't win the WWE Championship. Taker vs. Punk seems lukewarm right now. I thought Punk did an okay job, not his best work last night, but they really need to step up the intensity in the two episodes of Raw left before WrestleMania.

Things did start to pick up beginning with the tag match. It was okay, nothing all that special, but it was decently wrestled. AJ doing her little skip around the ring was a nice little touch that almost cost Bryan & Kane the match.

Del Rio vs. Cody Rhodes was a surprisingly good 3 star, 13 minute match that had Cody looking stronger than he's looked in months. Cody even got a couple of believable near falls during the match. Swagger attacking Del Rio & Ricardo afterward was done well and Ricardo was great at selling the effects of the Patriot Lock. This feud needed a nice shot of intensity and they gave that last night.

Booker T being the next member of the WWE Hall of Fame was a nice touch. I've never been a huge fan of the guy, but he's deserving. He's accomplished a lot as a singles & tag team wrestler. It's a nice addition to an already stacked 2013 class.

Sheamus & Orton vs. 3MB was a little better than I expected, though still not much to write home about. The set up in Big Show ultimately being named their partner in replacing Ryback, who will face Henry at WrestleMania now, was simple and effective.

Ziggler vs. Kofi was only about 6 minutes, but it was a pretty strong 2.5 star 6 minute match in my eyes. Ziggler gets another win and Team Hell No comes out to challenge them for a match. AJ ups the stipulation for the match to be for the tag titles & at WM, so a tag title match is official.

The triple threat IC title match was very good, 3.5 stars and was packed with great action, a lot of near falls and a couple of suspenseful moments here & there. Given that Barrett hasn't been a priority as champion since just after the Royal Rumble, there was a real sense that the title was in danger here. All three men looked good and I was pleased to see Barrett score a clean win. Here's hoping that this leads to better use of him as champ.

The final segment featuring Heyman, Triple H and Lesnar ultimately came off very well I thought. I had a feeling, after Heyman came out with his "security" that it was going to start off slow and then build its way along at a good pace. Heyman's antics & his interaction with Triple H after he insulted Stephanie were gold. Triple H's intensity was believable and it looked to me like Trips got pretty stiff out there. Heyman looked to be bleeding a little bit. Heyman screaming that he "hated" Trips while Trips had him on the table was excellent. It was a lot of little things that added up to sell me on that segment. Lesnar coming out did happen finally and it doesn't bother me that he & Trips didn't hook it up. The stipulations of the match work in my eyes. The match needed to be a "no holds barred" kind of deal, even though that's really just a fancy way of saying no disqualification, but the added stipulation of Triple H's career being on the line adds intrigue. Some will argue that it gives away the ending of the match. Me, however, I think it's at least plausible that Trips will step away from wrestling. He's got to eventually, there's nothing left for him to do and he will be taking over WWE at some point; so it's believable that Lesnar can win. I'm leaning towards Triple H winning personally, but there's enough meat on the bone to keep me in doubt.

The show overall was mixed. A lousy first half and a solid second half. WWE has work to do in Punk vs. Taker & Cena vs. Rock II. The intensity needs to be stepped up and I'm hoping that they'll get these things back on track next week. The undercard of WrestleMania is filling up nicely though and several interesting matches were announced officially on last night's show. Still, the first half of the show really dragged everything down. I give the show overall a C.

 

[The_Sharpshooter]

PTP interrupting Cena to start the show was great. Could've been better if we had a reason to care for them(ie. Holding the tag belts), but I'm happy to see them either way. I knew Titus was good on the Mic from the past when he was commentating with King & Cole and held his own, while Young sat on the side quiet and got ridiculed for it.

Cody's my boy, AD's my boy, but that match did nothing for me.

Triple threat match was fun, but I would've preferred a title change. I guess since Barrett has defended his title, he can take Wrestlemania off and kick it with Colin Farrell huh?

Everything else sucked. Johnson Out

 

[strongbad]

I was okay with last night's show. It's not the type of show I'd expect for the Road to Wrestlemania though.

What I liked: Punk's promo, the triple threat match, Swagger's post match interference, and that Booker T will be inducted into the HOF. I think that the Big Show coming down to back up Celtic Vipers was pretty well done by the giant.

To start things off, we had Cena running a promo, which went nowhere, and frankly got more confusing when the PTP came out there. Don't get me wrong, it was funny, but this is your main event at WM. It didn't do anything to build that match IMO.

Another promo that I wasn't crazy about, Triple H's. Why they had to save it for the end anyways? Maybe it was due to the blatant blade job by Heyman, but it didn't do anything for me. All we got to see here is how mad Triple H is, and he got to take it out... on the security guards.

I also thought the way they scripted Ryback out of the 3 man match for Wrestlemania was lackluster. Something had to be done, but I was hoping for a better turn of events than the GM simply saying you're out of the 3 man match. Perhaps more teasing from the WSM and Ryback talking it over with his partners and asking the GM to make a modification to their match would've been better. This is assuming that Ryback would've been up to do a role that required more linguistic skills than "Feed me More" of course.

 

[The Eighties]

I missed last weeks Raw but the video packages this week pretty much caught me up on the main 2 angles as Rock wasn't there.

I thought Punk's opening promo was strong and Taker's attack had the required mix of intensity and desperation. Punk bailing and then smugly smiling at the notion that he's in Takers head worked well, I could have done without Cole's "magic powers" comment but overall this was the best thing Taker and Punk have done so far.

Ziggler vs Jericho was ok, I thought Y2J had a fire lit under him tonight but Ziggler seemed bored. No real surprise in the result but this whole Jericho/Fandango aftermatch and pre-match stuff lost me, I'm guessing something started with them last week. On a side note Big E's finisher still looks dopey.

Sheamus is about to give a backstage interview about the frosty relations with him and Big Show when The Shield attack him. The ever pantless Randy Orton arrives to help but they muller him like a wet kipper as well, finally Big Show arrives and sends The Shield scurrying, the 3 faces stare after them with expressions that plead for the producer to cut to something else.

I think Team Hell No vs the PTP was next, they've had a few matches lately but this was the best one with some really good exchanges while Bryan was in with Titus and Young.

Del Rio vs Cesaro is up next, this started out well but ended abruptly when Del Rio's sympathy crutch is attacked by Swagger, Cesaro avoids the job but gets his arm yanked post-match after Del Rio is done checking on the condition of the only reason he gets any pops.

There's a video package of a contract signing from last week that I'm glad I missed, but there's no escape as Triple H comes out, downplays the career stip and snarls about how badass he is, then Wade Barrett has the audacity to come out for his match and Triple H's nostrils are having none of this disrespect, so the fastest shovel in the west quickly punts poor Wade in the nads before giving a smug smirk and swaggering off to, I imagine, his other job as an extra on Sons of Anarchy.

When we come back from break Barrett is in the ring still nursing a pair of sore plums, Miz' music hits and what follows is a very good non title match that for some reason the Philly crowd emptied the contents of their collective sphincters on. Miz getting the win will probably, maybe, possibly, lead to an IC title match at Mania.

I can't remember exactly where they happened on the show but there was a solid bit of build for the Henry/Ryback match with both winning handicap matches in impressive fashion. The Usos did a great job with Henry and 3MB sold like troopers for Ryback, both powerhouses coming out of the show looking strong as they get ready for their Mania showdown, good, simple oldschool booking.

Jericho has a backstage segment where he informs Josh Matthews that he's spoken to Vickie and gotten himself a match with Fandango at Mania, not really sure what to make of this, either there are plans for Fandango or this is a rib on Jericho.

The Shield have their first ever Raw match and their opponents are Ryder, Gabriel and Khali, it's fairly short but The Shield are suitably aggressive and dominant, the post-match powerbomb on Khali looked impressive.

Sheamus, Orton and Show come out for a ruckus, The Shield stand their ground but are driven from the ring by the now united face trio. Ambrose's facial expressions during the whole thing are priceless, he genuinely looks insane.

Rhodes Scholars with the Bellas faced Brodus and Albert with the Funkadactyls, there was some cat-fighting and Rhodes Scholars won. I smell a youtbue pre-show inter-gender 8 person tag on the horizon.

At some point AJ overheard Kaitlyn calling her a loon while trying to get Team Hell No focused. This led to a short match between the two that AJ won by count-out when she dodged a Kaitlyn spear and she crashed into the barricade, to her credit she did it with gusto! I guess this may end up being the Divas title match at Mania.

The Rock and Cena were up last in a segment where a legends panel consisting of Bret Hart, Dusty Rhodes, Mick Foley and Booker T would ask them questions. Cena and Rock stood at podiums like politicians.

The segment was overlong and I dislike the Rock and am ambivalent towards Cena, however I thought Rock delivered his answers with an intensity and strength that came off well, I liked the way he countered Cena's false redemption angle and pointed out that he knew failure after his losses to Austin but came back stronger. Cena was not as crisp in his answers but gave off an interesting vibe of pent up frustration and a hint of desperation.

I have no issue with them coming to blows, the segment built up to it well and Rock countering the AA into the Rock Bottom ended things strongly as the tide continues to flow in Rock's favour as Cena attempted to strike first and got caught out.

Like all these 3 hour Raw's it dragged in parts but I liked the Ryback/Henry build and Punk/Taker had an effective segment while Rock and Cena closed the show with their strongest segment in 2 years. Barret vs Miz was MOTN but in-ring it wasn't a particularly strong show tonight.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE Raw
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Fargo Center
March 25, 2013

Opening Segment - I thought the opener for last night's show was solid. Punk did a good job on the mic last night with a confident delivery mixed with his typical irreverent attitude. I also dug the fact that, unlike last week, he left out the talks of count outs and disqualifications. Taker showed up in his ring gear to a great pop and looked to be in much better shape than he was when he returned to the WWE several weeks ago. The brief beatdown he delivered on Punk worked well, in my opinion, as the feud needed to get a little physical 2 weeks from WrestleMania. They gave the fans a little thrill without giving anything away. While Punk still has the earn, he made it more about how the urn is connected to Taker's "powers" rather than making it about Paul Bearer. Even though Bearer's memory is forever linked to the urn, Bearer's name was only mentioned once by Punk last night and it became more about the streak rather than Bearer's memory. Thumbs Up

1. Chris Jericho vs. Dolph Ziggler - Prior to this match, Fandango came out and was about to have his in-ring debut until Chris Jericho runs out and beats him down, forcing him to leave, so they move right into this match. As for the match itself, it was good, though nowhere near the level we've seen from them in the past. As you'd expect, they worked very well together and Jericho had the fans solidly in his corner. Some good displays of athleticism from both guys and it was just a technically sound match that was kept at a good pace. The end comes when Jericho puts Ziggler in the Walls of Jericho for the submission win at the 8 minute mark. I was a little surprised to see Jericho get the clean win here but I think he needed it heading into WM. Big E. Langston pops Jericho from behind, in return for Jericho delivering a dropkick to him earlier in the match, and delivers his finisher. As Ziggler, AJ & Langston are leaving, Fandango comes back out with his dance partner. They briefly dance about Jericho's fallen body before Fandango starts to viciously attack. Jericho looks like he's about to make a comeback before eating a big kick to the face. Fandango then scales the ropes and delivers the leg drop off the top. Fandango got some good heat from the Philly audience last night and I'm actually looking forward to this match. **1/2

Backstage Segment - Backstage, Matt Striker is about to interview Sheamus after they briefly replay what happened this past Friday on SmackDown!. Before Sheamus can begin, he's attacked by all three members of The Shield. They beat Sheamus down before Randy Orton comes out of nowhere and delivers a shot with a steel chair across Roman Reigns' back. Meanwhile, Ambrose & Rollins are able to take Orton down successfully. Big Show soon enters the fray, forcing the heels to retreat. Show stands guard while Sheamus & Orton recover. A brief & effective segment to show some solidarity between the babyfaces. Thumbs Up

2. The Usos vs. Mark Henry - This was a handicap match that was done merely to show Henry as a dominant beast. The Usos got in some offense on Henry, which I thought was the way to go here. The match was only about 2 minutes but it ultimately did its job. Henry scores the win with the WSS before decimating both wrestlers after the match was over. NA

3. Alberto Del Rio vs. Antonio Cesaro - A decent match while it lasted. The match only went about 4 minutes but I thought it as pretty good 4 minutes. Cesaro & Del Rio worked at a good pace and worked well together until Zeb Coulter walks out onto the stage and down the ramp, distracting Del Rio. Del Rio's attention is taken away while Jack Swagger comes through the crowd and attacks Ricardo once again. Swagger drags Ricardo over to the time keeper's area, after knocking him against the ring steps, and smacks his "broken" ankle up against the railing before Del Rio attacks. He gives Swagger a good, physical beatdown with the fans firmly behind him. Del Rio gets counted out, however, giving Cesaro the win. As Del Rio checks on Ricardo, he gets pissed and takes his frustrations out on Cesaro. Del Rio enters the ring and slaps the Cross Armbar on Cesaro, forcing Cesaro to tap even though the match is over. Solid stuff all in all, I thought, as it protected both champions and gave good hype for the WHC match at WM. **

4. Team Hell No vs. The Prime Time Players - Solid 5 minute tag team match showing Team Hell No has gotten back to working as a cohesive unit. While the outcome of the match was never really in doubt, it was still a decent outing. Nothing particularly great here, just overall solid tag team wrestling. The end comes after Bryan manages to isolate Titus O'Neil, getting him out of the ring & out of the picture with the running knee off the apron. Kane then delivers the chokeslam to Young for the clean win. After the match, Ziggler comes out onto the ramp with Big E. & AJ in tow while the champs taunt them from in the ring. **

Triple H - Another brief, but strong promo segment from Triple H. Much like his first promo segment after his attack on Brock Lesnar, this was kept short & sweet with great intensity. Trips hyped the match well by putting both himself & Lesnar over. With next week's show being the go home Raw to WM, I expect there'll be another physical outing between the two. As Triple H is walking away from the ring, Wade Barrett's music hits, interrupting Trips' entrance. They have a brief staredown with Barrett basically telling him to move aside as his segment's over. Triple H responds by kicking Barrett in the balls before walking out. Who knows? Maybe this is setting something up for later down the road between the two? Thumbs Up

5. Wade Barrett vs. The Miz - As they come back from commercial, Barrett is in the ring selling the effects of Triple H's nut shot. As for the match itself, I thought it was a great effort from both. I especially like that they brought Triple H's attack into play several times during the match. People hate on Miz a lot but I think he's gotten much smoother, more crisp inside the ring than he has been. He & Barrett delivered a good, back & forth match that went on longer than I figured. I thought they'd fight for maybe 3 or 4 minutes before Barrett did something to get disqualified or counted out. The end comes with Barrett going for a running boot but Miz dodges, causing Barrett to get caught up on the tip rope, straddling it and aggravating the shot he took from Triple H earlier. Miz then chop blocks his knee before putting him in the Figure Four. Barrett eventually taps at the 13 minute mark. I'm assuming this means there'll be a return match of some kind between them at WM, this time for the title. ***1/4

Backstage Segment - There's a brief segment in the locker room in which Kane & Bryan are arguing a bit over AJ and how each accuses the other of not really being over her. Kaitlyn injects herself here and does a good job of putting AJ over as "crazy", while AJ walks in on the conversation, unseen & unheard. Kaitlyn seems much more comfortable in a speaking role and briefly revisits her history with AJ and is attacked after she calls AJ "crazy". AJ viciously attacks Kaitlyn, screaming like a...well a crazy person, as Kane & Bryan struggle to pull her away. I'm guessing this is a set up for what will probably be a Diva match between them at WM for the title. Thumbs Up

6. The Great Khali, Justin Gabriel & Zack Ryder vs. The Shield - A brief, but effective six man match that ultimately saw The Shield dominate the mid-card babyfaces. The babyfaces ultimately had the advantage earlier on before The Shield ultimately rallies to make a comeback. The end comes with Dean Ambrose rolling up Zack Ryder in a modified surf board and Seth Rollins jumps from the top, driving a knee into the exposed Ryder. Rollins gets the win at the 3 minute mark. As they celebrate, Sheamus' music hits and he comes out on stage only to be followed by Orton's music and appearance seconds after. They slowly make their way down to the ring as Big Show comes in through the crowd to help "surround" The Shield. The babyfaces make their way into the ring and quickly gain the upper hand, forcing The Shield to retreat. The match wasn't much to talk about but it was ultimately a good set up to hype their match. NA

7. Brodus Clay & Sweet T vs. Team Rhodes Scholars[/B] - Again, nothing really to talk about here. The match was okay for what it was but too short to really get into. The Bella Twins accompanied Rhodes & Sandow out and eventually got into it with the Funkadactyls. Tensai & Sandow tried to break them up, leaving Rhodes & Clay in the ring. Rhodes hits Clay with the Beautiful Disaster kick to pick up the clean win at the 3 minute mark. I'm guessing that there'll be an 8 person tag match between all these people at WM. NA

8. Ryback vs. 3MB - A much better outing from 3MB than I was expecting. They controlled most of the 5 minutes this match went on and ultimately got in some good offense on Ryback. You still knew what the outcome would be, but I thought it was a nice change from Ryback simply going through them like wet tissue paper. The end eventually comes after Ryback delivers a double Shellshocked to Slater & Mahal for the win. *1/2

9. Katilyn vs. AJ Lee - Too brief to get into, but it was pretty physical while it lasted. AJ ultimately scores the win via count out after Katilyn hits hard against the security railing. Again, it points to a match between them at WM. NA

The Rock & John Cena - This was a Q & A segment featuring WWE Hall of Famers. I was initially skeptical about this but it turned out to be a fantastic segment overall. The panel included Mick Foley, Booker T, Dusty Rhodes & Bret Hart. Cena & Rock delivered great mic work in which a lot was touched on. Cena delivered his stuff with great, believable intensity. I'm enjoying the build to their match much more this time around as they're trying it very, very seriously. It comes off as two guys who don't like each other rather than a couple of show offs who frequently pander to fans trying to outdo one another. I like that they touched on Cena's overconfidence going into WM last year and using that as a platform for how he ultimately came up short. Cena stating that Rock didn't beat him, rather that he beat himself was a great touch. The "questions" posed by the legends were honestly good ones and ones that fit perfectly well with what this segment was supposed to do overall. Nobody was out there cracking jokes, nobody was out there trying to be cute. None of them were out there to try and get attention for themselves. The focus was on Rock, Cena & the WWE Championship; which is exactly how it should have been. Eventually, Rock challenges Cena and Cena makes a show of getting ready to oblige Rock. He slowly removes his hat, shirt & dog tags all while not taking his eyes off Rock. Cena gets up in Rock's face and does the "you can't see me" bit before Rock pushes him away. Cena comes up and scoops Rock up on his shoulders, going for the AA. Rock slips out and comes up behind Cena and is able to deliver the Rock Bottom. Cena sells the aftermath of the movie looking heartbroken really as he stares after The Rock. Cena looked kinda how he looked after losing last year, extremely crestfallen. A white hot segment that accomplished everything it needed to. Thumbs Up

Final Thoughts - From top to bottom, almost everything on the show was a solid outing. Most of the night didn't have an epic feel, but everything that happened on the show did have a purpose. Wrestling action on the show last night wasn't all that hot. Jericho vs. Ziggler & Miz vs. Barrett were the two top matches, with Miz & Barrett taking match of the night. The promo segments were the overall highlight of the night as they progressed the three top matches for WM along. Taker showed up and got physical with Punk, Triple H delivered a brief & intense promo hyping his match and Rock & Cena delivered the segment of the night that was flat out awesome all around. From an overall perspective, it seems that the build for WM this year seems to be more evenly spread out than it was last year. Rock & Cena still gets more attention but the undercard of this year's show is getting much more build overall than it did last year. Last night's show was overall super hot, but it was a big improvement in my eyes from last week.

Grade: B

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Very good Raw, here is what stood out:

1. No Brad Maddox, is it because they had nothing for him? Is it because they are done with him? Are we supposed to believe him and Vickie were alone in that office for three hours and nothing happened?

2. Heyman with Punk - seems like Heyman hangs solely with Lesnar when Lesnar is around and Punk does his own thing but there is still an on-screen relationship between Punk and Heyman when Brock is off with Sable.

3. No Brock - come on already, WM is two weeks away.

4. Fandango - his valet/manager/partner reminds me of Liz. She is a total fish out water and stunningly intriguing compared to the Divas. Because of this I start having impure thoughts that Fandango is a reflection of Macho:

- he is obsessed with saying his own name
- not large men
- flashy outfits
- overly tanned
- top rope finishers

Kill me for these thoughts but who knows? Speaking of Fandango's finisher, it looks like it really hurts both guys. How many years can he land like that and not end up crippled?

5. In-ring action - nothing mind blowing but fast and purposeful. It looked like the guys who were competing were really out to impress.

6. Punk's promo - terrific, I hung on every word capped off brilliantly with the appearance of the UT throwing angry blows. He looks ready for WM and i'm still not convinced this is a guaranteed UT WM victory.

7. The Legend's Debate - started slow but picked up and did it's job. Glad they covered how Cena really did beat himself and they had their little respect lovefest last year. I have no idea where Cena is going and was shocked to see him get so humiliated. He also said something about nothing ever being the same after Mania. I promised myself I would never buy in to the heel turn again but see it as a possibility again. Good work WWE.

The rest was all meh to fine. HHH may have just taken the week off. The Shield/Superfriends match does nothing for me. The Bellas are back. Still not sure if I buy AJ in the ring.

Ohh, and I'm really glad Hell No is still intact. Their segments are almost always amusing if not gold.

I give this episode of Raw show a rating

 

[The Eighties]

I have to confess I didn't take a lot of notice of Raw tonight, it was just on in the background.

Cena and Rock's promos were both excruciatingly long and dull, they seemed to prattle on forever and poor Cena even got the dreaded boring chant. The basic premise of desperation vs confidence was fine but I felt they already covered it last week in the far superior HOF panel segment.

I didn't take any notice of the Show/Orton/Sheamus vs 3MB match, the promo afterward from Ambrose was good and Rollins was solid as well, not sure why the crowd got on Reigns, truth is this feud is already cooked and ready to serve so tonight's stuff just felt like a repeat.

Dolph vs Bryan was a good match and I liked the way Big E broke Kane's grip post-match, he still looks like Urkle on steroids but he's being booked pretty well.

The Shawn Michaels vs Paul Heyman promo was the best thing there's been in the HHH/Lesnar angle, HBK brings a raw and genuine emotion to these dramatic type of matches that Triple H simply can't do as he always comes off as hollow and phony unless he's being aggressive or a smug asshole. Heyman as usual was great. If this were HBK vs Lesnar at Mania I'd actually buy the show.

Punk cut a short but quality promo backstage, I like how he basically put over the idea that he didn't care how badly he got hurt as long as he wins.

The only other 2 matches I can recall being any good were Jericho vs Cesaro and surprisingly the Bellas vs the Funkadactyls. Speaking of the former this whole thing with him and Fandango still seems really out of place for a Mania to me.

There was something with Del Rio and Swagger but they are both so fucking boring that I can't remember what it was.

The final segment was ok, I am really not a fan of how this has been booked around the death of Paul Bearer but it is what it is. Taker's promo was nothing special and then Heyman came out as cosplay Paul Bearer and looked pretty convincing. Punk attacking Taker while disguised as a Druid was classic heel bastard work but the crowd still chanted his name loudly until the production truck did their magic. I liked that Punk is not seemingly scared of the goofy magic powers stuff but he's gonna get mullered at Mania.

I had pretty much made my mind up weeks ago that I wouldn't be bothering with Mania for the first time in 21 years and nothing on this show changed my mind. However I am quite positive about the prospects for things post-Mania as there are several potentially interesting directions to go in.

 

[I Heart Cena]

Props to DC for letting Cena know that he is a piece of garbage. I hope NY/NJ amplifies the hate to a higher degree.

CM Punk proves once again that he is the best in the world at what he does. I'm watching Wrestlemania because of him.