On paper, with just four matches on the card, anyone who didn’t watch Raw this week might think they didn’t miss much.
However, this was a RAW that will be remembered for quite some time.
Why?
It was the first RAW in years that felt like anything could happen, at any moment.
It also proved that great promos, which build to future matches, are just as important as the matches themselves.
The show started off with a bang, as Triple H cut a solid promo, before being interrupted by Sheamus. Unfortunately for the Celtic Warrior, he was kicked in the groin by “The Game†and then pedigreed through the announce table.
So much for “The Game†putting Sheamus over.
Soon, after, Evan Bourne made his return and strangely enough took on Sheamus and defeated him with his beautiful Shooting Star Press.
Right now, the only wrestler’s stock lower on the show is Ted DiBiase.
All of this occurred during the first 20-odd minutes and as a result, the show had a great pace early on.
Great promos later on by Michael Cole and the Miz continued the excellent pace of the show. Cole, who is now being trained by Jack Swagger for his match against Jerry Lawler at Wrestlemania, cut the type of promo, any potential wrestling manager should watch for inspiration. Evil, cowardly and slick, Cole is playing his role perfectly here. While the match between him and Lawler won’t be great as far as the in-ring action is concerned, the psychology is there.
The same thing goes for The Miz. While he’s still not where he needs to be as far as his in-ring ability, the WWE is getting a ton of mileage out of his mouth and ability to cheat and catch opponents off-guard.
It’s a big start.
While John Cena was funny during his promo with the Miz and the Shawn Michaels promo continued to further the angle between HHH and ‘Taker, The Rock promo was again, the mark-out moment of the night. The WWE is playing things smart here by not having him on the show last week and having him appear “via-satellite†this week. This guy is a ratings draw and it would be a huge mistake to over-saturate the shows with him- in the flesh. Make no mistake, Wrestlemania is going to be special this year and like many of the other players, The Rock is playing his part incredibly well.
Why can’t this show always be like this?
Well, because Wrestlemania season is upon us. This is when Vince McMahon pulls out the big guns. With Stone Cold Steve Austin appearing next week, it looks like things are just getting started.
Matches:
Evan Bourne vs. Sheamus: A match that lasted less than two minutes, but you can’t complain when Bourne delivers the best looking Shooting Star Press in the business.
Mike McGillicutty vs. Randy Orton: Another quick one, which saw the Viper take care of Mr. Perfect’s son with an RKO and a punt to the head, building more heat towards the CM Punk/Orton encounter at Wrestlemania.
Diva Battle Royal: a waste of time, but anytime the sexy Bella twins and Maryse on TV is entertaining. At the very least, it’s working towards an angle between a program between Eve and the Bellas.
Alex Riley vs. John Cena: A match which saw The Miz do whatever it took to help Riley secure a victory, but it wasn’t enough. A nice bit of fun revolving around Miz’s phone helped the mediocre match, which was better once it ended. With Riley being canned as the Miz’s protégé due to the loss, can Miz be more focused going into the biggest pay per view in the industry? If he’s on his game again next week, then this match will be deemed as a good piece of the ultimate story.
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