Powell's WWE Raw Hitlist: Raw is Twitter, The Miz and R-Truth can't beat John Cena by himself, yet he's calling in The Rock for help, Triple H and Kevin Nash angle, C.M. Punk, Alberto Del Rio, and John Laurinaitis
Oct 25, 2011 - 02:20 PM |
By Jason Powell
Dot Net Members are listening to my 48-minute audio review of WWE Raw, and the nearly 85-minute interview I conducted with Justin Credible regarding WWE sponsored rehab, the Scott Hall story, his friendship with The Kliq, and much more. Join us on the ad-free version of the website by signing up via the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.
WWE Raw Hits
Kevin Nash attacks Triple H: No, I didn't really care for the angle and I'm not looking forward to the bad matches, self indulgent promos, or the possibility that they will continue to showcase this feud at the expense of everything else happening on the show. Rather, the thing I like about the current direction is that it gets C.M. Punk away from Nash for the time being and lets the two legends work against one another. Punk has lost a lot of momentum since he was the hottest wrestler in the world at Money in the Bank, and it's not like a program with Nash was going to change that. The Triple H vs. Nash program certainly won't be for everyone, but they have history and at least they are working together rather than being put in positions to shine at the expense of the guys who will carry this company into the future.
Randy Orton and Sheamus vs. Christian and Cody Rhodes: Just when I thought WWE might be trying to top Impact Wrestling for most consecutive talking minutes, along came this lengthy tag match. It gets the "minor Hit" designation simply due to the in-ring action, as the outcome of the match simply reestablished that the heels aren't in the same league as Orton and Sheamus. Of course, the problem is that Orton is feuding with Rhodes, and Sheamus is feuding with Christian. It's another one of those feuds where no one expects the heels to win without cheating, and having Orton and Sheamus go over here felt pointless unless they are moving on from these programs.
C.M. Punk and Alberto Del Rio: Del Rio's celebration tease excited me because they really need to do something to raise the prestige of the WWE Championship. He didn't get much mic time, but it was good to see Punk get a lengthy verbal segment again. The big problem I have with the angle is that while Punk is cast as a rebel, he's apparently not enough of a rebel to attack Laurinaitis.
WWE Raw Misses
Overall show: Twitter, Twitter, Twitter. This company is downright obsessed. I'm all for WWE having a presence on Twitter, but the amount of time they are dedicating to what is trending on Twitter is a major turnoff and it feels beneath a company this big. Just imagine if the NFL broadcast teams spent time gushing over anything NFL related trending on Twitter. Who cares? I'm not even sure what they think they are getting out of this.
John Cena vs. The Miz and R-Truth: It was refreshing to see Miz and R-Truth show some edge leading into the main event. They attacked Ryder and didn't come out rapping for the crowd, which immediately makes them look like comedy heels more than edgy heels. Sadly, it was all erased when John Cena hoisted up The Miz for the Attitude Adjustment to show that he could have beaten the heels had it not been for R-Truth hitting him with the plastic water bottle of doom. If Cena could take these two on his own, then why in the world should I see Miz and Truth as threats to Cena and The Rock? Granted, the story is all about the dynamic between Cena and Rock at Survivor Series, but it disappoints me that WWE isn't even trying to make Miz and Truth look like in-ring threats. My biggest hope at this time is that Cena is working with John Laurinaitis and will turn on The Rock at Survivor Series.
John Laurinaitis: Enough. I don't mind Laurinaitis in small doses when he's cast as a henchman and not given too much mic time. Sadly, he's getting as much camera time as anyone in the company right now. The heel general manager gimmick is overplayed, and listening to the wrestlers telling skateboard jokes that the majority of the fan base doesn't even understand is tiresome.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Santino Marella: I'm ready to see Ziggler step into the upper mix, but it appears WWE wants to use his in-ring ability to make Mason Ryan look better than he is. He's a good choice for that role, but a quick win over Santino and then the post-match angle with Ryan just left me feeling like Ziggler's recent hard work isn't going to be rewarded with a stronger push anytime soon. By the way, one can only assume that Santino will get some quality mic time next week since working with The Muppets is right up his comedic alley.
Michael Cole Challenge: If this somehow leads to Jim Ross making a permanent return to the broadcast booth, then I'll change my tune. And I'm not talking about Ross playing some bizarre hybrid role. Give him the play-by-play job and don't look back. Cole can do his thing on Smackdown, where Booker T's presence essentially guarantees the broadcast team is doomed anyway. Sadly, my guess is that this just the company's latest attempt to get the hopes up of Ross fans. The ratings went down when he was fired, and they performed well when he was in last week's main event, so they're probably just reacting to those numbers and putting him back on the show in these campy angles.
Wade Barrett vs. John Morrison: A decent match until the botched finish. It looks like WWE is getting serious about doing more with Barrett. Quite frankly, he never should have been in a position where rebuilding was necessary given how well he performed as the leader of Nexus last year. Meanwhile, Morrison continues to rack up losses
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