WWE Raw: March 19, 2012
Apologies for not reviewing the last couple of Raws. Personal matters kept me tied up. Anyway, I'm trying to get this one done in a timely manner. By the way, a link to the entire show is at the top of this post so that you can check it out for yourself if you are interested in seeing it after reading my analysis. Right, let's get to it.
The Good...
I didn't mind the exchange between CM Punk and Chris Jericho to start the show, Punk's acting aside. Punk was hella fired up and Jericho's fake apology almost had me sold. I was expecting him to twist it around eventually, and boy did he ever by verbally assaulting Punk's sister. The rivalry is getting intense and personal. Now they just need an explosive showdown in the ring before Mania to finish hyping the match. I just wish that this rivalry had been building for more months to bring it to epic proportions. Maybe it will continue after April 1st.
Cody Rhodes delivered another good video package of Big Show's embarrassing Wrestlemania moments. He is embarrassing the world's largest wrestler to no end with his footage and is giving Show and the audience a lot of reason to boo the son of the American Dream.
The Rock's promo from the Rocky Balboa statue was much better than last week's "Rock Concert". He wasn't reading words off his sleeve or a screen and he was more charismatic and interesting. I liked his impressions of classic wrestlers like Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior. Only thing that irked me is that damn smile that pops up every 30 seconds. Can't take him seriously as a hard-ass, dangerous wrestler when he keeps flashing those pearly whites.
It was very brief, but I didn't mind the tag match between Kofi Kingston/R-Truth and Jack Swagger/Dolph Ziggler. Everyone got some ring time and I liked the brawl between Aksana and Vickie Guererro after Vickie helped Dolph and Jack win. It was a proper, entertaining wrestling segment.
The final segment featuring the HBK-HHH-Undertaker showdown worked enough for me. Seeds of doubt were planted when Undertaker said that Shawn Michaels is better than Triple H. Will Michaels screw over the Game to make that statement true and prevent HHH from beating the Undertaker at Wrestlemania, which is something Michaels could never do himself? Will HBK help his longtime friend end the Undertaker's streak? I am curious to know how this match will play out now, even though I am pretty certain Taker will end up winning at Mania.
The Bad...
I wasn't a fan of any of the matches on the show. They were all short and took a major back seat to the promos and in-ring verbal jousts.
The Kane-Big Show match lasted only 50 seconds and was interrupted by Cody Rhodes, who is facing Big Show at Wrestlemania. I liked that Cody got in Big Show's face and I thought having Rhodes handcuff Show to the ropes and punch him with boxing gloves on added heat to their war, but why not give Kane and the Giant more time in the ring to engage the audience in the contest?
The Santino Marella -David Otunga match, while it featured some fun showboating, phone-stomping and Santino-mocking spots, was exactly 1 minute long. Again, not long enough to make the crowd deeply care or tell any sort of story in the ring.
Furthermore, Daniel Bryan beat Zack Ryder in under 2 minutes. Really? 3 straight matches under 2 minutes? REALLY? Come on, man. And Ryder looked weak tapping out almost before Daneil Bryan put the 'Labelle Lock' on him. Oh, how Zack Ryder has fallen.
Miz got squashed by Sheamus in a quick match later in the show. ANOTHER short, one-sided match. Sheamus looks ready for Mania and Miz looks like he couldn't beat a cardboard box these days. At least the Miz got in a couple offensive moves this time. Either way, he ain't gonna be part of the main event at Wrestlemania again this year. He may not even be on the card.
The Meh...
The only match of any length on the show was Mark Henry vs. John Cena. It was the best match on the show, which isn't saying much. I liked that Mark Henry dominated and looked strong, but I didn't like how Cena pulled a Hulk Hogan - get beat up for 4 minutes, then suddenly hit your 3 or 4 moves of doom out of nowhere to pull off the victory. There is no way that a guy could realistically take the beating of his life, then act like nothing happened and take out his opponent after 30 seconds of offence. I know wrestling isn't real, but humour us a little, would ya?
As much as the Cena match had its failings, I did like how the Rock delivered a 'Rock Bottom' to Mark Henry and told Johnny boy that he was going to get one at Wrestlemania. I was calling for some sort of in-ring confrontation, and they delivered. Mediocre match plus quality Rock run-in gives the segment a 'Meh' overall.
The divas stuff was ok. They didn't actually wrestle or come to the ring. They just set up the rivalry between Maria Menounos/Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix/Eve so that they can have some "celebrity" involvement at Wrestlemania. Now, I don't have a problem with Maria, but she sure ain't Mike Tyson or Pete Rose. WWE isn't doing enough to make the audience care about this match.
Randy Orton gave a short, pointed interview to hype his Mania match with Kane. It was ok, but they still haven't adequately sold me on the reason behind this rivalry. It's very forced and I would have preferred an in-ring confrontation by these 2 competitors on the show.
Overall... 66/100
The matches were just not good or long enough. The promos were good, but the meat of the show must be the battles in the ring. Not a great show just 2 weeks before Wrestlemania. This should be when Raw is at its absolute best and most exciting. This show didn't measure up.
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