The 1,000th episode of Monday Night Raw was mediocre. A lot of mark-out moments, sure, but not a lot to show fans that the company is moving in a direction to ensure high-quality programming for years to come.
There were plenty of fun spots. That made up for the lack of quality matches.
In the end, the thought of a full-fledged Punk heel turn isn’t all that interesting. It’s been done before.
The reunion of Degeneration-X was a completely fantastic way to start the show though. Having HHH, Shawn Michaels, Road Dogg, [a noticeably chunky] X-Pac and Billy Gunn back together was fun, even though Chyna was missing.
Damien Sandow’s interruption of the follies and his later beating set the scene for a comical show that will be remembered more for the appearances of former stars and blatant product placement than anything new.
The marriage of AJ and Daniel Bryan with Reverend Slick was certainly an event. Slick was solid in his shenanigans early on, but AJ wanted things sped up. After she put on Bryan’s ring, a poorly guided series of events ended with AJ leaving Bryan at the altar and becoming the new RAW General Manager.
It’s okay to be confused. The whole world is.
Afterward, CM Punk and The Rock got into it and the shoot was mediocre aside from Rock’s jabs at Daniel Bryan. The announcement that The Rock is to get a title shot at Royal Rumble is a joke. The guy hasn’t had more than five matches in the last years. It was shades of TNA that a guy could come out of the woodwork like that and get a shot at the gold.
The segment between Paul Heyman, Triple H and Brock Lesnar was great once Stephanie McMahon got involved. Her promo was, in a word, perfect. She belittled Heyman and goated him into agreeing to give HHH the match with Lesnar. The battle that ensued between Lesnar and HHH after was intense. That will definitely be an excellent match for Summerslam.
Again, while these developments were cool, the highlights were the return of The Undertaker, Lita, DX and the other legends.
Matches:
Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara and World Champion Sheamus vs. Chris Jericho, Dolph Ziggler w/ Vikki Guerrero and Alberto Del Rio w/Ricardo Rodriguez:This match did nothing to advance storyline aside from Ziggler and Jericho going at it a bit- essentially this contest was an attempt to get the crowd going. Overall, it didn’t do much of anything. The end flurry was cool though, with all the stars attempting their finishing holds. Talk about a TNA rip-off. Sheamus won with the Brogue Kick on Jericho.
Jack Swagger vs. Brodus Clay w/ Dude Love: A disaster of a match as the former World Champion Swagger was beaten in less than 30 seconds by Clay with a Splash. After the match, Love gave Swagger the Mandible Claw.
Intercontinental Champion Christian vs. The Miz: Bret Hart was the special ring announcer for a match that was the best of the night up until that point. Although the pace was sluggish at times, both competitors worked hard. The end countering of finishing moves was enjoyable and ended with The Miz winning his first Intercontinental Championship.
Lita w/ Bradshaw and Ron Simmons vs. Heath Slater: Lita won with the Twist of a fate and a moonsault, with a massive Clothesline From Hell from Bradshaw somewhere in the middle. Slater tried to escape before the match started, but was greeted by all the legends that beat him up over the last two months.
Kane and The Undertaker vs. Jinder Mahal, Tyler Reks, Hunico, Camacho, Curt Hawkins and Drew MacIntyre: The Brothers of Destruction made quick work on the six-pack of mid-card heels in a no-contest. Hunico and Curt Hawkins got a Chokeslam and Tombstone Piledriver for their troubles.
WWE Champion CM Punk vs. John Cena: It was a back and forth encounter early on. Both had their moments to shine, but Cena knocked out the referee accidentally before he hit the Attitude Adjustment on Punk. With the referee out, Show hit the WMD on Cena. However, Punk was unable to get the pin once the referee was back in the match. Playing possum, Cena latched on the STF and looked to be on the verge of winning the title, but Show interfered again and got the match thrown out. With Show destroying Cena, Punk didn’t intervene, but The Rock did. After The Rock delivered a Spinebuster on Show, Punk got involved and gave Rock the GTS.
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