Raw discussion - 15/7

[Vamp]

I'll say one thing for RVD vs. Jericho, they had a good finishing stretch, and the bit where a couple of hundred people (if that) were trying to persuade the rest of the bored fuckers in the crowd (who were probably wondering if they could change the channel too) was hillarious. Jericho's difficult to watch at times, mainly whenever he does the "come on baby, please make some noise, please, pretty please." RVD's over though.

 

As for other things, the Punk/Brock segment was fantastic, and might keep me coming back for more. And they put over Bryan pretty strongly at the end. Was the Brooklyn Brawler in the background though? Thought it was a bit odd that Cena didn't mention him.

[Statto]

Was the Brooklyn Brawler in the background though? Thought it was a bit odd that Cena didn't mention him.

 

Yeah, he was, in a Nets jersey. I thought Cena namechecking him was going to be the purpose of him being there, and really expected him to go there for the "did I forget someone?" bit.

[The Dart]

Brooklyn Brawler is in a match on Superstars.

 

Was a good Raw, lots of good stuff and the potential Summerslam lineup looks great...wonder who Del Rio will face.

 

Not sharing the general opinion of The Wyatt Family though. They are different, they could do without Erick Rowan though.

[PowerButchi]

Yeah. Rowan even struggles doing these beatdowns. I'm dreading seeing him in a live match on raw. He just never seems to know where to put himself. Really awkward.

[PunkStep]

On the other hand, I really like Luke Harper. He looks scary as fuck. I watched one episode of NXT a month or so ago and after they won a match, Harper had this freaky, gormless smile across his face that would even scare Burt Reynolds in Deliverence shitless. He's an indy darling, isn't he? I hope he comes along well. I like a few rough-around-the-edges wrestlers to balance things out a bit. Everyone is too polished cosmetically these days.

[wh1007]

I thought Raw was absolutely fantastic this week, I really enjoyed it.

 

I still love Fandango and can't get enough of him. It's great that they're giving him more to do in matches as well as he's actually good. His match with Orton was enjoyable.

 

I like Maddox too and I know it's probably an opinion that's in the minority.

 

Mark Henry may be the greatest man of all time. He's been on fire this year even more so than he's previously been. A match with the Usos against The Shield should be well worth a watch. Also, Henry looks fucking boss in a suit.

 

As upset as I am about the Ziggler/AJ split it really needed to be done. Ziggler and Del Rio had a good little match too. It'll be good to see Big E. getting some more exposure. He's one of my favourites on NXT and they've barely scratched the surface with him.

 

Speaking of NXT, The Wyatt Family. Christ that was excellent. I was waiting for the crowd to turn all smarky and start with the "Husky Harris" chants but thank god they didn't. They let Bray do his thing and what an excellent thing it was. Bray is one of the best characters in years. Everything from the look to the entrance to the terrific promo.

 

Were it not for the Heyman and Punk promo then the Wyatt bit would have been the shows highlight. It's been said before but I do think that Heyman is probably the best talker there is. This felt like the promo they would have done a couple of weeks ago only the crowd were sat on their hands at the time.(I think that may have been the episode from Hicktown, Ohio or something) It was perfect. Heyman had some legitimate gripes, which always adds to the brilliance of it and gives you something to bite into, but with enough selfish motivation thrown in to make it a moaning heel speech. Punk was class too and has been on top form since his return. Great beatdown by Lesnar on Punk that never looked unrealistic as somebody the size of Lesnar fighting somebody the size of Punk should have.

 

Cena Vs Bryan should be a proper belter I reckon even with the inevitable involvement of The Bellas and Total Divas.

 

Overall there were some good quality matches. some great segments and angles and a red hot crowd. If only more Raw's could be of this quality.

[FUM]

The last two nights Cody has suddenly got mad over as a face. I never thought any sort of turn was coming for him but it seems to have worked perfectly if they planned it.

[The King Of Swing]

The silence during Wyatt's entrance made it all the more creepy.

[Retro Red]

The Punk, Heyman and Lesnar was insanely brilliant.

 

The camera pan when Lesnar's music hits is one of the most sublime 'little touches' that I've seen on WWE tv in a long time. Just perfect.

[FLips]

I love The Wyatt Family from their vignettes up until after their entrance, at which point I don't like any of them. The two big guys are hugely awkward and shit, they've done two beat-downs and they're all over the place. Crap.

Bray has done nothing for me so far. Without the lighting and the tone of the vignettes, his promos are rubbish. He's a good talker, but he's talking nonsense to it's hard to get behind it. Comes across as chatting shit and trying to sound cool rather than saying anything of any worth. "I created war" and "I am the eater of worlds" stand out. What the fuck do they even mean? Shut up.

I was curious to see how he handled himself in the ring, but then he did the fucking generic Knox Out finisher that every new guy has if they don't have the Overdrive or a DDT.

I think as a gimmick it's doomed to fail. Those two family members won't stick around because they're awful, and then you're left with Bray who I can only imagine is over with smart crowds and will get the "WHAT?" or silent treatment with everyone else after a while.

[LaGoosh]

On the other hand, I really like Luke Harper. He looks scary as fuck. I watched one episode of NXT a month or so ago and after they won a match, Harper had this freaky, gormless smile across his face that would even scare Burt Reynolds in Deliverence shitless. He's an indy darling, isn't he? I hope he comes along well. I like a few rough-around-the-edges wrestlers to balance things out a bit. Everyone is too polished cosmetically these days.

 

Yeah he was called Brodie Lee and wrestled in ROH, Chikara and CZW. I remember him having a great cage match with Antonio Cesaro in Chikara where Cesaro hit a flying uppercut off the top of a cage. I think Harper will do well in WWE, the other guy probably not so much.

[The King Of Swing]

Onto the whole Punk story line Heyman is so fucking great at the slimy almost stalker like act it's scary sadly though it looks like this current feud will probably lead to Heyman's eventual departure which would be a shame since I think he has been consistently good since returning.

 

I still loath AJ.

[Sergio Mendacious]

Does Shield attacking Henry mean He is turning Face again?

No. It means he's turned face. He's been one of the most popular characters on Raw for months. Now its official after they attacked him.

 

The Shield's stock has fallen massively. Henry and the Usos are doing to destroy them at SummerSlam. Like full on power moves and shit. They've went from beating up the Undertaker to being the pawn in Mark Henry's game of hilarious beatings. Can't wait.

 

I don't quite get the stock having fallen thing - they were never going to carry on at the top level as a stable, and it's worked as a vehicle to strap gold around all of their waists and get them over that way.

[Joey Joe Joe Jr]

On the other hand, I really like Luke Harper. He looks scary as fuck. I watched one episode of NXT a month or so ago and after they won a match, Harper had this freaky, gormless smile across his face that would even scare Burt Reynolds in Deliverence shitless. He's an indy darling, isn't he? I hope he comes along well. I like a few rough-around-the-edges wrestlers to balance things out a bit. Everyone is too polished cosmetically these days.

 

Yeah he was called Brodie Lee and wrestled in ROH, Chikara and CZW. I remember him having a great cage match with Antonio Cesaro in Chikara where Cesaro hit a flying uppercut off the top of a cage. I think Harper will do well in WWE, the other guy probably not so much.

 

 

The thing I like most about him is that when he speaks he doesn't sound like he's a monster or off his rocker like Bray. He sounds very "normal" which makes him following Bray unsettlingly - that he's doing so on his own volition. Could make for a great face turn down the line.

[The Invisible Boy]

Got to say I agree with a lot of things wh1007 has posted.

 

I think Raw was great this week and it's no surprise it was the show following Money in the Bank. Like I've said before Money in the Bank is actually my favourite PPV of the year (obviously WrestleMania is the big one but Money in the Bank is so much fun), you likely see a big push with the briefcase for the World Heavyweight Champion and there's usually some decent storylines around at the time (this year it's the Wyatt Family making their mark, the Punk-Heyman-Brock triangle which now has become a feud, and Maddox as GM) and you usually get some storylines beginning on the show (the Cody and Sandow split and feud).

 

I did say a few things at the PPV left me feel a bit unexcited but now I've had more time to digest it I have to say I am very excited. I think seeing it end with Cena winning and Orton getting the briefcase made me feel quite anticlimactic but other stuff that happened was actually quite good and progressed a lot of things.

 

The Punk, Heyman and Brock stuff is the big one for me, that in my opinion is my main storyline for summer, it should be absolutely explosive, the turn from Heyman was brilliant although somewhat predictable, the beat down from Lesnar last night though was incredible, it's a nice change to see Punk as the underdog that everyone has sympathy for and is rooting for. Heyman's line about Punk having no family and so on and only having the fans was such a good line to get the crowd behind Punk! Can not wait to see more of this.

 

Ziggler and AJ is going quite nicely now, with AJ becoming a side story of annoyance and distraction for Ziggler as he tries to regain the Title. I loved how it went last night with AJ basically showing that she will get her own back on Dolph. Plus Dolph again showed why he is the best seller in the business when he took that clothesline and Big E's finisher, he looked like a rag doll on his shoulders and didn't even tense or try to break his fall as Big E dropped him to the mat on his shoulders. I think last night we saw two brilliant sellings, Ziggler in what I have just mentioned and Punk in the Lesnar beatdown too. I can see maybe a little feud between Big E and Ziggler but I'm not sure if it's good to take him away from the Title picture, unless they do it as a sort of Ziggler must get rid of the distractions so that he can focus on the Title.

 

Maddox I find quite enjoyable, he has a sort of awkwardness about him but it doesn't take anything away from him but does help with the whole bad GM thing Vince was going for. If anyone has ever seen The Middle he actually reminds me a bit of Axl, the older brother.

 

The Wyatt Family were gold again, they are just plain creepy and amazing, we've needed something like this for a while. Interested to see where this Kane stuff goes. I am expecting Kane to come back in a month or two as a brainwashed member of The Family now. I did say I wouldn't like it last week but I suppose I'd give it a chance as it may prove me wrong. It could become the basis of a Kane and Bray feud when Kane eventually comes around to the brainwashing, or he may just pretend to be brainwashed and take out Bray and so on when they are vulnerable.

 

Loving RVD being back! Loved his match with Jericho but was a little peeved to hear Bryan's match was taken off the show due to time constraints but considering it was due to the Punk and Lesnar segment going over four minutes and they gave the other eight minutes to RVD and Jericho I can't really be upset.

 

Bryan getting the match with Cena at Summerslam is awesome and well deserved. I was expecting Brooklyn Brawler to get a mention as well though. I am a little apprehensive though, obviously if Cena has Orton cash in and win the Title off him a heel turn for Orton won't work as everyone will cheer Orton but what I think this means is Bryan wins his first WWE Title at Summerslam, Orton jumps out of the crowd, slides in, blindsides Bryan as he's celebrating and RKO, then he gets the ref to start the match and wins the Title, thus getting booed and the heel turn I am guessing they want him to get. Plus Bryan and Orton do have the little feud thing they had recently so it will have a little bit of history to it too.