The Internet wrestling community was slightly miffed about last week’s Raw, with the major gripes coming from the fact that there was almost a complete absence of in-ring action. This week, the recipe was fine-tuned a bit better, as the return of several big stars was balanced out nicely with promos and spots for Wrestlemania and of course, matches.
The end result was a pretty solid show.
Things started off well, with Randy Orton taking out the New Nexus and building heat for his match with CM Punk at Wrestlemania.
After a few matches and promos [most notably, a Sin Cara vignette and the Undertaker delivering a promo setting up his match with Triple H at ‘mania], Michael Cole announced his guest referee for his Wrestlemania match with Jerry Lawler as none other than John Bradshaw Layfield. Out of the sport for a few years, is he just back for a quick stop? Or is this something long-term? More likely the former, Stone Cold Steve Austin returned soon after to ruin the party and took out Layfield with a stunner and later made himself the guest referee of the match instead. What ensued afterward made the show memorable for anyone who’s had enough of Cole’s antics over the past few months.
If you missed it, it was vintage Stone Cold.
Things got even better later, as Dolph Ziggler formally joined the RAW roster. Unfortunately, he brought Vicki Guerrero with him. Nevertheless, the potential feud between the two of these guys could be fantastic.
If that all wasn’t enough, John Cena closed out the show by addressing The Rock’s promo last week. While his promo was decent, seeing The Miz take out Cena and develop as an excellent heel right before your very eyes was something special. After being used as a cowardly champion for months, The Miz is on the prowl now, using his finisher much more and delivering more than solid promos. For a guy that was originally portrayed as one of the weakest World Champions of all time, he’s coming into his own quite nicely.
In other news, Sunny, aka Tammy Lynn Sytch will be one of the performers inducted into Hall of Fame this year. The original “Attitude†Diva, Sytch, in spite of her lack of longevity, made a mark on the industry and was emulated and copied by dozens of women that came after her. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen after Shawn Michaels, that a legitimate Hall of Famer has been announced this year.
And what about the Jersey Shore’s Snooki being the guest host of Raw next week? With Angelina and J-Woww appearing in TNA already, is the WWE laughing at their competition because they were able to get Snook? Who knows. And more importantly, who cares. While it’ll get ratings, the mystery remains as to how it’ll bolster the show.
Matches:
David Otunga vs. Randy Orton: Otunga has come a long way since his arrival in WWE and looked decent in this match, especially after delivering a Ron Simmons-esque sidewalk slam for a near-fall. Orton wouldn’t fall to the Nexus Greenhorn though. After selling some offense from Otunga, in typical Orton fashion, The Viper was able to sneak in a RKO to end the match. Soon after, he brutally punt-kicked Otunga, most likely back to Florida Championship wrestling until after Wrestlemania. With only Mason Ryan left in CM Punk’s corner, what will Punk and Orton’s matchup at ‘mania look like?
Christian vs. Brodus Clay w/Alberto Del Rio: Great to see a solid mid-carder like Christian back on Raw. However, while he won the match Clay was the one who opened up eyes, with a nice T-Bone suplex and a variety of elbow drops, shoulder blocks and clotheslines. Overall, the guy has the build of a Hugh Morrus, but with more of a focus on power moves. Despite the loss, he’s someone to keep an eye on.
More interesting though is the fact that Christian is in an angle with Del Rio so close to Wrestlemania.
Eve vs. Nikki Bella: Eve has rebounded beautifully from career suicide as R-Truth’s valet a few months ago. While she’s not the best Diva wrestler in the company, she’s got a unique look and is constantly improving. Similar to Andrew Martin’s old “Testdrive†finisher, Eve has a ton of potential with this move and behind it, she can get herself some wins and credibility. The same thing can be said about the Bella twins, who have gone from eye candy to competition performers in just a few months. Again, they have a long way to go, but the matches involving the three are continuing to get better.
Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus: A waste of a match that continues Sheamus’ fall from grace. Also, Bryan is one of the only guys capable of providing a five-star match in the company, so have him in the ring for less than a minute makes no sense. However, at the end of the match, Sheamus challenged Bryan to a match next week and put his career on the line. At least there was a method to the madness.
CM Punk w/ Mason Ryan vs. R-Truth: Punk dished out a plethora of punishment early on until R-Truth fought back. Obviously it wasn’t enough, as Punk slapped on the Anaconda Vice for a quick submission victory. After the match, Ryan administered a shoulder breaker to Truth.
Dolph Ziggler vs. John Morrison: While this match was only a sneak peek of what’s to come, this match was the best of the night. A fast-paced match, both of these guys are tremendously talented and should be able to provide plenty of great matches in the future.
After the match, the RAW General Manager announced that Vicki Guerrero, unlike Ziggler, had not yet gotten a job with the company and would have to wrestle Trish Stratus to secure a position. Again, another reason to watch the show next week.
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