Old School Raw

[Chest Rockwell]

I'd say it's pretty upredictable just on the basis that they're both part-timers. Brock's gonna wrestle again sooner though, right?

[ShortOrderCook]

The opening segment - Undertaker walks out, with a Wrestlemania graphic behind him. Cut to break, return from break, CM Punk wants to wrestle Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Is creative completely dry of ideas, or what? Reminds me of the first segment between Undertaker and HHH that set the table for Wrestlemania 27; another angle that had seemingly no creative effort whatsoever put into it. At this stage, they may as well can Raw and just announce the matches for each pay-per-view on their social media.

 

 

No. Undertaker and Triple H told a fantastic story in their bit for WM27, it didn't need anything ridiculous and over the top and for once relied on some subtleties. It worked perfectly. Similarly, there's nothing wrong with how those first two segments went with regard Undertaker and CM Punks bit. All fairly logically booked stuff.

 

I quite enjoyed Raw personally. I think it was Pitcos who said last week it seems like they're waiting on Undertaker to give the nod if he's going to 'Mania or not before sorting out the rest of the card and it seems very much like that. As soon as that first segment was done i saw what i thought the card was going to be and everything else later on seemed to lead that way. Which isn't a bad thing, WrestleMania is where the matches you could predict being put together should happen and part of the fun is seeing how they come about. Part of my prediction was that i thought we'd see The Shield in the main event to help give Punk the victory and to set-up the 6 man in the process. I think that should have happened but i guess Punk needed the win.

 

I'm suddenly pretty up for Undertaker-Punk to be honest and how the card has suddenly began to shape after that Raw, i'm feeling good about 'Mania and reckon it will be a nifty show with the potential card. Ryback probably should gain some sort of revenge on The Shield at 'Mania and The Shield match is one of the only things i'm not sure of...can see a bit of a reshuffle from that match, Show possibly full on face by then but potentially an Orton heel turn at 'Mania. But either way i'm well up for some Ryback vs Menry.

 

If those two matches get put together i'd think that leaves some sort of loads of bodies tag title match, hopefully a Turmoil - i like those, something with Miz/Cesaro/Barrett/whoever on the pre-show, which would surely leave Dolph and Jericho to be put together. I'd really like to see the WHC match open the show, Dolph to cash-in, win and go on to defend it against Jericho later. I don't necessarily think it will but i think it would be a great thing to see. Brock-Triple H will surely have a stip involved and be a much more chaotic, brutal affair this time around and that could be really good.

 

Oh and The Rock and Cenas bit this week was fucking tremendous. Ten billion times better than anything they did in the run-up last year.

 

So...

 

 

Rock vs Cena

 

Tripe H vs Brock

 

Undertaker vs CM Punk

 

The Shield vs Sheamus, Orton and Show

 

Del Rio vs Swagger

 

Ryback vs Menry

 

Tag Team title match of some kind

 

Dolph vs Jericho

 

 

I think that's a pretty tidy card actually.

[ColinBollocks]

As a Lesnar fan, I'm all for him winning everything but I'd honestly be surprised if they give Lesnar the win. I think they'll go down the Cena/Lesnar route of having Lesnar dominate only for Triple H to finally overcome the beast by doing something mental, there are ways for Lesnar to lose without hurting his aura.

 

A Triple H win sets up a possible lucrative rubber match too. It's also worth noting that if Triple H loses at 'Mania that'll be three high-profile losses he's had in a row (Taker/Lesnar/Lesnar), Triple H will always be about and as such is worth protecting.

 

It's just very rare to see a star like Triple H take such a battering and never get their big glory moment.

[NEWM]

This obviously won't happen, but I just thought of a scenario where Ryback and Menry have their match next week, pretty much reach a stalemate then Ryback realises Henry is the guy he needs to finally beat The Sheild, and the two semi-reluctantly unite to smash the fuck out of them at Mania in a Handicap Match. Henry's clearly the next babyface star in waiting (if they want to use him as such), so that would be a great way to organically turn him. Because Gladders is right, he's going to be the one with the crowd on his team at Wrestlemania, not Ryback. Ryback/Henry could and should be a meaty brawl, but a win doesn't really benefit either and a loss harms them both.

[Devon Malcolm]

This obviously won't happen, but I just thought of a scenario where Ryback and Menry have their match next week, pretty much reach a stalemate then Ryback realises Henry is the guy he needs to finally beat The Sheild, and the two semi-reluctantly unite to smash the fuck out of them at Mania in a Handicap Match. Henry's clearly the next babyface star in waiting (if they want to use him as such), so that would be a great way to organically turn him. Because Gladders is right, he's going to be the one with the crowd on his team at Wrestlemania, not Ryback. Ryback/Henry could and should be a meaty brawl, but a win doesn't really benefit either and a loss harms them both.

 

This is a good idea. Let's face it, Ryback runs the risk of being "GOLDBERG!"-ed out of the building on the night with it being New York and Henry's popularity has never been higher, arguably. They need to do something because even if they had him win on the night, it could be the final nail in the coffin of a character that has been struggling as it is to have him shite on at Wrestlemania.

 

Imagine he IS given that 'Wrestlemania moment' and has Henry up for the Shell Shock and all you can hear is boos. It's not going to be good at all for anyone.

[ColinBollocks]

Personally, I'd be protecting Henry for a future ***** series with John Cena. They should be building big bad heels to feed Cena during his big title run. They've done well by Henry, so far.

[CleetusVanDamme]

I'm delighted to see him back, but all the Undertaker stuff was incredibly lazy last night, and the spiky dressing gown still looks shit. LOVED the Cena/Rock promo and HHH calling out Brock. The rest was forgettable.

 

As average as this show was, I can't wait for Wrestlemania. Rock vs Cena and HHH vs Brock will be awesome, and provided Shawn Michaels stays at home, the build to both should make Raw must-see for the next month. And while I don't think it can match up to previous years of the streak, Undertaker vs Punk in all likelihood will be a great match, there's potential there for a good build as well, as long as they don't over-do the "20-0 vs 400-whatever days" stuff. Ryback vs Henry would rule, I hope they go with that, it could be the clash of the titans-style epic that Lesnar/Goldberg and Batista/Umaga failed to deliver.

 

I don't know what they're going to do with The Shield, though. Taking on Sheamus, Randy and someone else just screams "Raw main event" to me. I could go either way on Del Rio/Swagger stuff as well, they have another month to build interest, but given that they seem to be running out of ideas for them already, I'm not sure more time will help them.

[Pyrotechnik]

Am I right in thinking Ziggler's MITB has to be cashed in by Mania at the very latest?

 

Edit: As to the Shield at Mania, they'd have to be in a 6 man against opposition that have history of working together as a team for them to have a match that didn't feel "Raw main event". Sadly that puts you in fantasy booking territory for the level of opposition needed for a "one night only" return to make it worthy of being a Wrestlemania match, that and half the names in my head are tied down elsewhere.

[TheShowOff]

Am I right in thinking Ziggler's MITB has to be cashed in by Mania at the very latest?

 

Edit: As to the Shield at Mania, they'd have to be in a 6 man against opposition that have history of working together as a team

 

No, MITB PPV.

 

And why did Crush have to go and die

[d-d-d-dAz]

At this point, I'd can The Big Show and put Ryback with Orton/Sheamus against The Shield.

 

I know the deal is likely going to be 'can they trust Show.....oh, Ortons turned!' but I'd rather they worked on a couple of weeks of friction between Orton and his team, before Ryback turns heel at the big event. Otherwise, like everyone else, I can't see a good outcome for him at Mania. He's dead in the water at this stage as a face, his catchphrase is fairly over but the 'Goldberg' chants have come back and he's just dicking about in the midcard again. Have him turn, kill Orton and/or Sheamus and make the boos he's likely to get contextually appropriate and you might leave the show with Ryback seeming semi-important again.

 

Stick Show in a gimmick filled scrap with Henry instead, at least you can have Henry win (and hopefully the positive response he's probably going to get from the NY crowd will counter the heel-heel dynamic) and look strong coming out of Mania. Having Henry WSS Show and then shout 'NOW AHM GUHNNA TAKE MAH TITLE BACK....THAT'S WHAT AHH DO!', would give Henry his own mini Mania moment.

 

Given these two scenarios, I think you might get Ryback getting some momentum back; Henry looking strong going into a feud at the top of card, hopefully with Cena and (I can't stress the important of this enough) we don't have ANOTHER Show heel/face turn.

 

I don't understand people bitching about Punk/Taker or how Punk doesn't seem like a genuine threat. In a one-on-one straight fight then yeah, he doesn't seem like a threat but since when has that been the framework for not just a Punk match, but any heel/face match? Punk is a threat precisely because he'll do anything to win, whether that's hiring a team of goons, forcing a DQ/count out or buying the ref.

 

In pure storyline terms I'd argue he's a bigger threat than HHH/HBK ever were, because Punk would take the cheapest victory and be happy with it. There's no limits to what he'd do, or any personal pride forcing him to do it 'properly' like how you imagine a Trips or a HBK wanted to end the streak.

 

I'm looking forward to it.

 

And, yes, Rock/Cena was the best thing the two have ever done with each other. Which is nice.

[Devon Malcolm]

I don't understand people bitching about Punk/Taker or how Punk doesn't seem like a genuine threat. In a one-on-one straight fight then yeah, he doesn't seem like a threat but since when has that been the framework for not just a Punk match, but any heel/face match? Punk is a threat precisely because he'll do anything to win, whether that's hiring a team of goons, forcing a DQ/count out or buying the ref.

 

In pure storyline terms I'd argue he's a bigger threat than HHH/HBK ever were, because Punk would take the cheapest victory and be happy with it. There's no limits to what he'd do, or any personal pride forcing him to do it 'properly' like how you imagine a Trips or a HBK wanted to end the streak.

 

I can't speak for anyone else but most of the appeal for me of the HBK / HHH matches at the last four Manias was wondering if it could happen this time and genuinely believing this might be it. I don't have even an iota of the feeling of that this time with Punk, and I say that as a Punk fan.

 

I think partially it's do with the fact that HHH and HBK between them have done everything but shoot Undertaker and still not been able to beat him. I know that the Shield could interject or there could be a dodgy finish but I can't see them piddling away the streak like that. I know that there's intrigue for many people in seeing HOW Undertaker wins, but not for me personally. I want a credible contender for the streak and as far as I'm concerned Punk is a massive step down from the previous two opponents and he just isn't credible.

 

It's mostly not Punk's fault, I would say. He's only being given a few weeks to play with here. With 8 to 10 weeks under the belt, maybe they could have done something with this storyline to make it more believable. But with around a month to work with, they're going to have to work wonders to get me interested in the issues here. I don't really think it will be a very good match either. Punk can have a good match with just about anyone these days but I'm concerned this will be a struggle for them both.

[SSJLogan]

You make a few point Gladstone. I still think Mania 30 will be Taker vs Cena so as much as a Punk fan as i am, i think we all know this will be 21-0. But i still think Punk vs Taker will be great.

[Baz Windham]

They didn't have the greatest chemistry in their 2009 series although Punk has come on a lot since then. I hope they go down the route Daz mentioned of Punk saying he'll use any trick in the book to win. It would make me interested in it, even though i'd still know the winner.

[Devon Malcolm]

You make a few point Gladstone. I still think Mania 30 will be Taker vs Cena so as much as a Punk fan as i am, i think we all know this will be 21-0. But i still think Punk vs Taker will be great.

 

I hope it is. Like I said earlier, the PPVs I go into without much expectation or excitement are often the ones I enjoy most so hopefully this will surprise me.

 

That said, I went into last year's Wrestlemania expecting great things and was one of the few people who was disappointed by it so I'm trying to keep my expectations as low as possible!

[d-d-d-dAz]

Yeah, but knowing they won't throw the streak away on a cheap finish is different to thinking Punks not a threat because of profile, aura, stature or performance.

 

The latter reasons can be attributed to bad booking or, worst, poor performance on Punks part but the former is just our 'smart' credentials doing as they do, and biting us on the arse and hampering our enjoyment.

 

I could understand why it could affect your personal ability to suspend disbelief Gladders, but its harsh to make general judgments based on that framework because if its anyone's fault it is our own.

 

It's be rubbish if they started booking feuds solely based on the rationale that they didn't want the small percentage of Internet fans to be able to read the writing on the wall. It'd be Russo at his worst, all over again.