Raw 3/6/13

[Mr Butternut Squash]

Bryan, Shield and to a lesser extent, Ryback, are really making these three hours a more pleasant slog. I would be happy to just watch Kane and Bryan interact when there's no wrestling. Post - hugging and learning Kane is quite great. Your heart went out to him in that segment when he was driven to the point of walking out. That bit the other week when Bryan was spouting his deluded shit into his ear and Kane just gently sighed to nobody, "no . . . you're the best in the world", was sweet as well. Bryan has a ton of momentum and I'd be disappointed if they turned him heel.I really don't see how anyone can think this shitty Curtis Axel push is gonna get him over. Maybe somebody like a Ziggler or a Sandow could get away with being presented as a complete goof that boasts over fluke wins but he ain't got the personality to make it work and Axel clearly isn't a natural show off type. It's counter productive to keep saying he's 'beneath' the top blokes when he's never gonna get a proper win over them and hasn't got the charisma to make the crowd care about it either way. He's the kind of bloke that needs to be stuck in the midcard getting actual pins over Miz, Kofi etc. for anyone to give a shit.For such a good Raw (which it was) there were some proper low points actually. The int title picture is a fucking mess and all three guys in it look like losers. Sheamus - as much as I wanna love him - really is an odious cunt. They need to do something else with him soon as his crowd response is getting more lukewarm by the week. Heyman and Jericho . . what was that about? Is Jericho taking the HHH route and being a bit creepy and insinuating sexual harassment on Heyman suppose to get me pumped for him vs Punk?

[Dr.PeterVenkman]

Agree with anyone saying it was the Bryan show, the way they recapped Smackdown and all 3 put him over on commentary was a good start but the way he was booked was near perfect, he was on the show loads yet wasn't overexposed and he lost one match and was left laying in the other yet came out even more over than at the start of the show, I hope they give him a slow build to the WWE title, superb

[The King Of Swing]

Post - hugging and learning Kane is quite great. Your heart went out to him in that segment when he was driven to the point of walking out. That bit the other week when Bryan was spouting his deluded shit into his ear and Kane just gently sighed to nobody, "no . . . you're the best in the world", was sweet as well.

Yeah Kane has also been great playing his part in this whole weak link story and as long as the material is strong Kane has always been one of the better performers on the roster as far as character based stuff goes imo.

[wh1007]

This thread hardly needs another post about how good Daniel Bryan was this week on Raw but sod it, he was fantastic again. He really is the WWE's MVP at the moment. I think Ian hit the nail on the head last week when he likened Bryan to Benoit in that he's the go to guy for having great matches week in week out. Hopefully they'll give him a decent run with the title. Really good six man match also.Fandango and Summer Rae can do no wrong in my eyes, and it looks like we're heading towards a triple threat match at Payback. Also, surely Wade Barrett must be tied with, if not beating Ziggler for most TV losses this year.I'm genuinely starting to get behind Curtis Axel. Granted he's not the greatest wrestler but it's something new and they seem to be behind him thus far.I'm glad somebody else brought up the whole bucket thing with Ricardo. I assumed I'd missed something on an episode of Smack Down when Del Rio was first becoming a face but there's been no mention of it if it actually is relevant. I like Big E but there's really no need for him and Del Rio to be wrestling again. Last week was supposed to the rubber match between them and this week it's turned into a series.And Damien Sandow was again fantastic on commentary whilst Sheamus continues to be a massive knob.All in all I thought it was a good show.

[Killjoy_Gee]

I'm glad somebody else brought up the whole bucket thing with Ricardo. I assumed I'd missed something on an episode of Smack Down when Del Rio was first becoming a face but there's been no mention of it if it actually is relevant.

All I remember is he threw water over AJ once in January and threatened to throw water over Big Show and now he carries it everywhere. I hate it. Props should only be used to further gimmicks. If a wrestler did a tennis gimmick, and carried a racket everywhere, I would expect him to use the racket week in week out to gain victories.

[d-d-d-dAz]

Ace Steel?

[TheShowOff]

I'm totally in love with AJ Lee, their really is something quite attractive about a crazy person, it slightly worries me.

Playing crazy surely has nothing to do with it, its just that she's fit. Unless you also find Glenn Close sexy? In which case you may indeed have cause for concern. ;)As for Raw, very average. I liked the Uso face paint - a throw back to a very young Samoan Swat Team.

[wh1007]

I'm glad somebody else brought up the whole bucket thing with Ricardo. I assumed I'd missed something on an episode of Smack Down when Del Rio was first becoming a face but there's been no mention of it if it actually is relevant.

All I remember is he threw water over AJ once in January and threatened to throw water over Big Show and now he carries it everywhere. I hate it. Props should only be used to further gimmicks. If a wrestler did a tennis gimmick, and carried a racket everywhere, I would expect him to use the racket week in week out to gain victories.

Now that you mention that, it does ring a bell. I seem to remember them chucking confetti on Big Show once. Saying that it hasn't been used in months, even if they had Del Rio spit in it once in a while it would justify it's presence. Like you I'm anal in thinking that a prop should have a reason to be there. It's a minor niggle I know.

[King Pitcos]

Really good Raw, I thought. Del Rio-Big E aside, there wasn't too much shite. The two McMahons turning up adds a bit of gravitas and importance to a Raw. I think this Triple H story is pretty rubbish, but it's not boring me. It does feel like a transition period and a bit frenetic, like there's a solid roster if all the pieces fell into place but a sense that nobody's quite sure how to arrange them and move forward yet. They're having a good go though, and giving a lot of new/unestablished acts some spotlight.The Cena vs Ryback feud is as generic as Curtis Axel, but Ryback vs Bryan was a hell of a match. The little fella's stepped up his game even more than usual the last few weeks. Kane is tremendous as his mate too, and even Orton entertained me this week.The Usos and Prime Time Players on Raw was a nice surprise, I assume it's a match that happens every other week on Superstars or Main Event but it's pretty new to Raw. The Usos are alright, the dance, the face paint, the way they wrestle. Looks like they're up next for a run with Reigns and Rollins -- their matches last month must have been a dry run for doing it on the flagship show. I think the PTPs are still being wasted, so much fun in those guys.Sandow was enjoyable on commentary. The Sheamus-Sandow feud is a bit lame, but conceptually it's fine. It could be really good if they kept Sandow ducking Sheamus, but they half play that hand and yet everyone's seen Sheamus brogue kick and pin Sandow in a good thirty matches already. Including last week on Raw, I think. There's no intrigue, no mystique to it. It beggars belief. Overexposure and too many matches has handicapped this rivalry, and that's a shame.I'm not sure what to make of the Jericho vs CM Punk thing. It's come from nowhere and I can't imagine it means much to anyone. There's no feud, and the dream match aspect of it (as much as that existed) was played out last year. What's the selling point here? Punk in Chicago?I enjoy the Bray Wyatt vignettes a lot, but not sure what him and the family are going to do on wrestling TV. I've not seen much of them on NXT, but on Raw, I worry they'll just be doing a variation of The Shield's routine. Gang attacks under a supposed philosophy. I'm worried that The Shield are spinning their wheels a bit as well. They're a three-man unit that wins all their tag matches and are pretty unbeatable, but that's happening every week now and there's not much novelty to it. Were it not for Bryan's standout story at the moment, I think Ambrose & co would be in danger of falling into "seen it" territory.

Curtis Axel is growing on me somewhat too, he doesn't look that 'cookie-cutter' either as he has a glowing tan which sets him apart (in one of the smallest ways possible). His hairs quite fine too and I'm sure I noticed a bald patch coming on.

Coming on?? The fucker's been half-bald since he was about fifteen. He's got a combover going at least two ways at the moment.

Is there any doubt that Bryan is the best thing in WWE if not wrestling as a whole right now.This man needs to be in the WWE title picture and soon!

No he doesn't -- not soon, anyway! The inferiority complex story is great, and doesn't necessarily mean a short path to title reigns. Daniel Bryan's one of the few wrestlers that can make everything he does on the show mean something, he doesn't always need a title to do it. A long build for DB winning the big one at Survivor Series or WrestleMania could be fantastic.

[Angle_fan]

I'm glad somebody else brought up the whole bucket thing with Ricardo. I assumed I'd missed something on an episode of Smack Down when Del Rio was first becoming a face but there's been no mention of it if it actually is relevant.

All I remember is he threw water over AJ once in January and threatened to throw water over Big Show and now he carries it everywhere. I hate it. Props should only be used to further gimmicks. If a wrestler did a tennis gimmick, and carried a racket everywhere, I would expect him to use the racket week in week out to gain victories.

Well Jim Cornette fits in somewhere with what you're saying?

[JNLister]

I don't know why, but when I see a former smarks darling starting to get over with a string of great performances despite being shorter than everyone else, and he's repeatedly using a diving headbutt and a cross face as people talk about how WWE might do a storyline where hard work lets him finally win the big one, I get a bit worried.

[WWFChilli]

Considering Bryan doesn't look like a pin prick might cause him to explode, I breathe a bit easier.In regards to Bryan winning the title down the line. That's what it should be. Down the line, not for a while. Let this angle slow burn and develop and it could be fantastic. Bryan can almost do nothing wrong, he'll probably have a job for life unless Lister is correct

[Scott Malbranque]

Vegan's are nice people.

[WWFChilli]

Are the Shield still over with everyone around here? I still think their great. They are one of the only things I'll bother watching when I skip through Raw. Great trio, love the gimmick and how their strengths are all pushed. A unit that works deadly, it's brilliant. I've read some people saying they are boring or the gimmick is cooling off but listening to the reactions in their matches the crowd really want to see them take a 6 man loss. One of the most over things about them is being unbeatable as a unit, so booking correctly, when they finally lose a multi-man match it should be both a brilliant match and really pop the crowd.

[ShortOrderCook]

Got to reiterate the thoughts and love for Bryan, Kane and the inferiority complex angle. Someone mentioned Ian comparing D-Bry to Benoit recently, of course there is comparisons and similar qualities to Benoit, but for me that's doing a dis-service to him, he's so much more than Benoit was and that's high praise considering how fucking good Benoit was. Bryan has just about everything, in that same thread I said I find him almost like a combination of Benoit and late-nineties Foley. In that he doesn't look like your typical WWE guy or champion but you want to see him get there and succeed and the fans truly love him, love rooting for him and would be brimming with joy to see him reach the mountain top. It would be a travesty to turn him heel now I think, there's definitely something in a long, episodic slow-burn build for him to challenging for the WWE title late in the year or next year. If it could last that long, he'd make an incredible Royal Rumble winning story. 10 years on from Benoit then actually, heh.I've been bumming his match with Ryback on Smackdown from a few weeks back for a while, it's still my favourite singles match of the year, that was the match and moment Bryan suddenly jumped it up an extra notch for me and he hasn't let up since. I love those two together though, they've got chemistry. Bryan knows how to wrestle the big lug and make them both look dynamite. A PPV headlined by a singles match between those two could be just tremendous. There was a couple of moments that felt really special on what was a fantastic Raw. When Bryan locked Ryback in the crossface and the fans began to lose their shit, I thought they've got two proper potential bona-fide stars on their hands here, they should 100% run with them both. This Raw felt a bit in general like efforts are being made on raising new guys up a level and I like it, for the first time in a while i'm really a fan of almost everyone they're looking to elevate. They have a cracking roster at the minute in truth, there's plenty of potential there. The other moment was those two tremendous segments with Kane backstage. Kane is brilliant, he totally gets it, he's a massive asset in my eyes. Those segments reminded me of Foley too and the backstage promo where Rock 'n' Sock split where Foley got emotional over his book and Rock seemingly dismissing it as trash. He mentioned in his second book how the camera crew were blown away by that bit and how real it felt, I could imagine when Bryan began to really go into it, that the people in that room had similar feelings of 'shit, that was good, that felt like a real moment'. The Kane and Bryan story really has been fabulous and there's still legs in it yet. I thought Kane was going to say he's done with Bryan, but it was brilliantly implied at but not said and made clear he loves the little bastard and wants him desperately to realise he's great. He can't bring himself to leave him despite his irrational behaviour. That was really great.On The Shield, i still think they are awesome, but i can see what people are getting at. I could watch them and Hell No forever though. They've added something to the tag titles for sure. The Shield still hold that level of excitement for me. When their music hit with the McMahons in the ring i got fucking excited anyway. That was a nice tease. I'm not sure on the whole Ambrose as US champ thing. I like the whole stable taking all the belts stuff, but they're supposed to be pushed always as a Unit and that's why they're so lethal and consider themselves all equal. I thought for sure they'd carry out the Freebird rule with them as champs considering this, but they're obviously high on Ambrose and looking to establish him.