Raw 05/03/2012 - Pre/Post Discussion

[FUM]

To me, if a guy like Santino (a comical jobber) can win the belt (*snaps fingers*) like that... it takes something away from Ryder's "against the odds to get a title shot" storyline.

 

He's just been runner-up in the Smackdown Elimination Chamber for the World Heavyweight Championship, eliminating 2 people in the process.

[iamtheman]

what else does the biggest match in wrestlemania history need to build it up

 

singing and rapping obviously

[Professor Paul's Bin]

Decent RAW I thought. Rocky was brilliant. Cena got cheered in his hometown for once. Swagger got the US title took off him after stinking it up for a few weeks. Teddy Long needs to fuck off. And enjoyable altogether. Kudos WWE.

[619]

Cena 2 - Rock 0

 

Not the greatest Raw but still fun, having HBK in the HIAC seems a bad idea that might water down the whole fued but let's see how it plays in the next few weeks. Santino as US champ is pretty cool, he's over like mad right now.

 

Havn't seen the show yet, but my heart sank when I read that Santino won.

 

To me, they've done a great job with the US title. Ziggler held it and dominated, leading up to the feel good title change that was Zack Ryder. They then (storyline wise) screwed Ryder and I was really hoping we'd get a Ryder vs Ziggler / Swagger fued in his attempts to reclaim it down the line and actually have a decent reign with it.

 

This feels like they've just demoted the US title. Maybe I'm in the minority here but Im dissapointed.

 

Sometimes I just feel like they come up with a great storyline (build up Ziggler as a unstoppable US champ, build up Ryder as the underdog, have Ryder win it) and then have NO IDEA where to go next. Now what? Lets dump it on Swagger.... oooh.... now Santino.

 

To me, if a guy like Santino (a comical jobber) can win the belt (*snaps fingers*) like that... it takes something away from Ryder's "against the odds to get a title shot" storyline.

 

Okay... winge over.

 

P.s. And yes... Michaels in the cell distracts from the match in my opinion. HHH wants to prove to Taker that he really is better than him, Taker wants to erase last years poor showing... but now that you have a Michaels as a ref, both men instantly have a excuse for losing to the other. Meh.

 

Santino has been crazy over of late. Nothing wrong with riding the hot hand.

 

(Which is exactly what they should have done with Ryder last summer, rather than sticking the strap on him three months after his popularity had peaked.)

[d-d-d-dAz]

Some negatives;

 

• I couldn't give a shit what Gail or Ramon Guerrero have to say...
  
• Seriously, a musical confrontation? ...Whoever came up with that concept needs to be shot, the whole feuds been ticking along nicely on a serious, semi-shoot note with all wise cracks done behind a grimace, this seems well out of place.
  
• That's about it, actually...
  

 

Yeah, so I really bloody enjoyed Raw. Thought it was excellent.

 

The opening segment was good, perhaps not great, but HBK turned in a blinder and if I didn't know any better i'd think Triple H was going over at Wrestlemania.

 

I absolutely loved the US Title Match, and the crowd reaction proved that those sort of reactions are still there to get if the crowd buy into your character. All the ringside craziness supplemented it perfectly, and the chaos was very reminiscent of 1998. Loved every minute of it. Santino getting the win always makes me smile, though. Also, as an aside, to the person who said that this felt like a demotion for the US title because of the great job they did with Ziggler/Ryder; that was months and months ago, and since Swagger has taken that title lower than its ever been. He's been so non-descript that an adjective like 'awful' seems like too high praise.

 

I see they're intent on assassinating Ryder's characters angle from every which angle; physically dominated every week? CHECK! Stepped out on by a girl you love? CHECK! Bitch about it to the one guy that's looked out for you? CHECK! Same girl gives you a whiff and you're back on the trail like a puppy chasing a bone? CHECK!

 

I enjoyed The Rock's history segments, actually. Sure, some of the humour doesn't hit the same notes it used to (King Pitcos is right, by the way, anyone who has the same sense of humour in their twenties as they did in their teenage years has a syndrome of some kind) but it was slick, well executed, interesting and some of the lines did raise a smile.

 

Cena's empty arena promo, on the other hand, was a bit too slick. The content was fine, but I couldn't help thinking 'you know what this needs, a piano arpeggio accompaniment...' throughout the entire thing. That said, by the end, I genuinely did think that winning this match was the most important thing in the world.

 

I repeat a thought I had in the Smackdown thread last week; as counter-intuitive as it is i'd love to see a newly crowned 'permanent general manager of Smackdown and Raw and the executive vice president of talent relations' John Laurinitis help Cena to win and end Wrestlemania with the two grinning Johnny's giving a giant fuck you to 80,000 Miami-ians. Before anyone pipes up, I know it'd be awful and unnecessary...it'd also be hilarious.

 

The tag team match was great, actually, and proved that as atrocious as Jericho's return has been, and as wet as this feud has been, the match should be good value.

 

Enjoyed the final segment, The Rock finally dragged himself up to somewhere near Cena's level but, really, this is bringing the absolute best of Cena. He's looking an absolute mega star at the minute and his execution, stripped down and more assured, is second to none. Just excellent. A genuine part of me thinks a larger proportion of Miami crowd will be in his camp than they're expecting. Home town advantage is rarely as important at Wrestlemania, anyway, given the amount of people that are shipped in from elsewhere.

 

Great Raw. Wrestling is ace.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Looking at the Big Show match, if Miz isnt in a match at WrestleMania, this fucker will be main eventing Slammiversary against Jeff Hardy in a few months. Miz did a bad buyrate with the Rock (which wasnt his fault, but someone has to take the blame) and almost killed R-Truth. Thats Mr. Kennedy form. There's being in the dog house then there's how the Miz is being treated at the minute. This bloke is fucked. For me, Miz was in a position where he couldnt be getting beaten like he has. It took a massive effort to get him into a position where people accepted him as a serious wrestler. How could you rebuild him, if this continues? Its not like Miz was Goldberg to start with.

 

They could at least stick him in a match with Hornswoggle, like when Bundy went from Hogan to those midgets.

[d-d-d-dAz]

What did he do to Truth...?

[IANdrewDiceClay]

He side stepped a dive, Karl Kramer style, and Truth got carried out. Triple H tore into him in the locker room in front of everyone as well. He's on his arse, poor Miz.

[d-d-d-dAz]

Is that then Truth flat-backed it? ...Yeah, I remember I think.

 

if i'm honest, i've never bought in to The Miz and whilst the show wouldn't be better without him, I don't think it'd be any worst. Certainly puts paid to dirtsheet reading mongs who, when he was champion, were predicting a big face turn because Vince saw him as the next Rock.

[RIDDUM_N_STYLE]

enjoyable raw, the one thing i didn't like though was cena smirking when rock was going on about ripping his throat out, there was no need for that. im a bit disappointed that hbk is going to be the ref for hell in a cell, was hoping for him to turn around and say he wants a piece of the deadman too, making it a triple threat. loved santino winning the us belt too, they really have been pushing him well the last month or so

[andrew "the ref" coyne]

Also, as an aside, to the person who said that this felt like a demotion for the US title because of the great job they did with Ziggler/Ryder; that was months and months ago, and since Swagger has taken that title lower than its ever been. He's been so non-descript that an adjective like 'awful' seems like too high praise.

 

I think you misunderstood me. Part of my complaint was because they put it onto Swagger with no seeming plan or direction. Because your right, Swagger (not nessesarily his fault) took the title lower than it had been prior.

 

Ultimately my critisism is that WWE seems to have an inability to seemingly string one storyline into another. I genuinely believe that once the belt was on Ryder they had no idea what to do with it, so it was put on Swagger "just because". I don't really care who has the title... I just wish I was confident that WWE were using the belt as a genuine long term storyline device. Right now I feel like Santino won "just because" but (hopefully) its part of a long term plan to establish Santino / establish whomever eventually takes the belt off of him.

 

Clearly though I am in the minority for the Santino win, and if it popped huge then more power to Santino and to the title change.

 

He's just been runner-up in the Smackdown Elimination Chamber for the World Heavyweight Championship, eliminating 2 people in the process.

 

You have a very good point. This and the post elimination chamber battle royale too.

[ItsClobberingTime]

For all the regular discussion of 'too much talk, not enough action' I have to say this week's Raw proved why some guys are the best in the business.

 

HHH, HBK, The Rock and Cena all played their parts to perfection. In turn, they almost made Punk/Jericho in recent weeks look absolutely fucking terrible, and I hope that's one feud that sticks to tag matches and whatnot to further it. They have good chemistry in the ring, but the idea of the feud is pointless, and neither guy is moving it forward on the mic. It's just not possible to get that feud over with the 'best in the world' discussions. Just prove it, I have no interest in listening to them talk.

 

HHH and HBK on the other hand - fuck it, I'd love to see them talk about who's the best between those two week after week. Absolutely superb. The ability to play those differing emotions in the same promo so subtly is something that not many guys in the business can do.

 

And then you get The Rock's 'history' lessons + Cena in an empty arena + the in ring promo = I'm sold completely. They know exactly what they're doing, and this week proved that last week and whatever has come before hasn't been an accident. Not that I ever thought it was anyway, but it definitely felt a lot more solid this week. Who am I behind? Still The Rock I think, but that's not because I dislike Cena or disbelieve in anything he says. I've never been one of those guys - I think he's a very solid in ring worker and on the mic, and he completely deserves his spot. It's just a case of him not really being 'my thing' and it's that simple.

 

Santino? Well deserved. He's been over as fuck for years, especially the last couple when they actually book him properly. He deserves that title far more than 'no one gives a shit' Jack Swagger, although he never really got a chance if we're being honest. Will he lose it again on Smackdown? Who knows. It wouldn't surprise me, as Johnny's revenge, but we'll see. He'll certainly try.

 

The rest was what it was, and everything is coming along nicely. It's evident where the focus is though, and rightly so.

[d-d-d-dAz]

Personally, I see Johnny trying to hot shot it on to Otunga but Teddy getting the last laugh. Laurinitis thus loses the plot, says at 'Mania his BOYZ will beat TEDDYS BOYZ in a fight till the death. Or something.

[ItsClobberingTime]

enjoyable raw, the one thing i didn't like though was cena smirking when rock was going on about ripping his throat out, there was no need for that. im a bit disappointed that hbk is going to be the ref for hell in a cell, was hoping for him to turn around and say he wants a piece of the deadman too, making it a triple threat. loved santino winning the us belt too, they really have been pushing him well the last month or so

I'm often critical over Cena's goofyness but actually I think it made complete sense in that moment.

 

This is a guy who, while completely passionate about the 'Mania main event, suddenly feels like he's got the better of his opponent. He's almost a little cocky now after the Rock stumbling last week. He feels he is under his skin, and so smiling in his face while he watches him get angry .. why not?

 

It's almost akin to the HHH/Undertaker 'pat on the shoulder.'

[tiger_rick]

The Rock hasn't wrestled regularly for 10 years and hasn't had a one on one match for about 8 years. Why would Cena be scared of him?