Can the real John Cena stand up, please?
Is he the Boy Scout the WWE-faithful is sick of?
Or is he the wise-ass Eminem knock-off millions of fans fell in love with almost a decade ago?
The jury is still out on that one, but at least RAW was entertaining this week.
That enjoyment had little to do with the matches. Aside from a physical opener, the promo was where the show shined. Cena’s rap return, The Rock’s attempt at rock and roll, Shawn Michael’s chat with The Undertaker and Chris Jericho’s exchange with CM Punk made for an intriguing two hours of television.
If that wasn’t enough for you, David Otunga’s law firm advertisement at least provided a few laughs.
Was the show fantastic? Not exactly. The promo and pre-match nonsense ran a bit long and none of the matches were really solid. But with Wrestlemania around the corner, the anticipation continues to build.
Matches:
Dolph Ziggler w/ Vicki Guerrero vs. Sheamus: A rough encounter that saw the two deliver high-impact offense in and out of the ring at a back and forth type of pace. Sheamus won with the Brogue Kick and broke a sweat in the process. Damn good opening match.
United States Heavyweight Champion Santino Marella w/Aksana vs. David Otunga and Mark Henry: A squash match. Marella looked good against Otunga, but Henry quickly delivered the “World’s Strongest Slam†for the win. R-Truth and Kofi Kingston came to rescue Marella after the three-count, but were quickly dispatched by Henry. Laurinaitis also announced that Henry had joined his team for Wrestlemania.
Brodius Clay vs. Jinder Mahal: Headbutt, T-Bone suplex and a splash. That was the match in another waste of time from Clay.
WWE Champion CM Punk vs. The Miz: Miz needed a win here to be a part of the Wrestlemania card. He was in control early on, but Punk made a comeback and went through his entire arsenal of signature holds. Miz battled back and hit his sit-down DDT, but missed a top-rope maneuver of sorts and was soon wrapped up in the Anaconda Vice. He tapped out soon after.
Randy Orton vs. Jack Swagger w/Vicki Guerrero: Orton was on the prowl throughout. Swagger took a beating inside and out of the ring. The All-American, American fought back and eventually worked on Orton’s ankle for a bit, but was unable to latch the hold on. After a missed Swagger Bomb, he did apple his signature hold, but in typical Orton fashion, he mounted a surreptitious comeback. Going to the place only he knows, Orton hit his second rope DDT and then the RKO for a decisive win.
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