This recap and analysis of WWE’s Monday Night Raw are the personal opinions of the writer. The author of this article is a former promoter, writer, and referee in the wrestling industry. You won’t find analysis as accurate as this anywhere else on the internet.
WWE Monday Night Raw Results 4/2/12
Raw begins with a locker room full of every wrestler. They are all sitting in chairs in front of John Laurinaitis and David Otunga. Laurinaitis talks about how he is now in charge of Raw and Smackdown. He immediately makes a match where Santino Marella will defend his United States Championship against Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger in a triple threat match. CM Punk interferes and calls Laurinaitis a giant tool box. Everyone laughs. Laurinaitis says that Punk is a jokester. Punk says that he likes a good rib, but that he isn’t joking. Laurinaitis makes Punk vs. Mark Henry for the WWE Championship. Ugh. I don’t want to see Mark Henry wrestle. Laurinaitis says Raw is now “people power.” All the heels clap while the faces just sit there.
The Rock makes his way to the ring. It’s an incredibly long entrance that takes about 5 minutes. The crowd is hot and gives a mixed cheer that consists of “Thank you Rock” and “Boots 2 Asses.” Another chant breaks out of “you still got it.” The Rock says 14 months ago he came back and electrified all across the country. He says he was victorious in front of a record breaking crowd. He says “Finally The Rock has come back home.” The Rock says that he has to thank John Cena. The crowd breaks out into “Cena sucks” chants. The Rock puts Cena over and talks about how strong his moves were. He said he had a JHC moment while he was in the STF. Which means Jesus H Christ get this guy off of me. The Rock thanks Cena for making history with him in the biggest match of all time The Rock thanks Cena’s friends, his family, and the people. He goes on to talk about how he was cut from the Canadian Football League in 1995. He says “do you have any idea how much you have to suck to be cut from the Canadian Football League.” Kinda funny. He thanks the people for making him a star. Then he guarantees that this is not the end and that it is only the beginning. The crowd chants “Yes yes yes yes.” They do the Daniel Bryan arms. I about popped out of my seat! I love these fans.
The Rock talks about celebrating and dancing last night. Someone whistles. The Rock thanks the fan for whistling and calls that dude a John Cena fan. Haha. See, The Rock is still funny. I know a lot of my readers are very very angry that The Rock won, and really hate him, but he’s funny! Politics aside, he’s very entertaining. The Rock makes the comment that he will soon be WWE Champion. The crowd goes crazy and chants “Yes yes yes yes” again. “If yo smelllll what The Rock is cookin.” My first comment is: wow what a hot crowd. They are on fire tonight. Great promo from The Rock. And like it or not, it’s good that he isn’t going away. He brings millions of extra viewers to the WWE every time he’s there. It’s good for business to continue to have The Rock around.
United States Championship: Santino Marella (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Jack Swagger w/ Vickie Guerrero- Vickie introduces both clients. Michael Cole is wearing an all white suit in homage of Laurinaitis. A “let’s go Ziggler” chant breaks out from these awesome fans. Ziggler and Swagger corner Santino. They take turns wrestling him to the ground and doing sit ups and push ups on top of him. Santino gets up and fights them both off with punches. Santino back body drops Ziggler over the top rope, but Swagger hits him with a shoulder block.
Back from commercial break and Ziggler is stomping Santino’s face. Santino fights out of a double team with a suplex, hip toss, drop kick, and headbutt drop. He puts on the Cobra glove, but Ziggler suplexs him. Swagger picks Santino up by the legs as Dolph hits a Fame Asser. Dolph goes for the pin and Swagger stops him. They confront each other and Swagger hits Ziggler with a belly to belly suplex. Santino fights back up again and sends Ziggler into the ropes with with a catapault. Swagger charges him in the corner but Santino moves. He hits Swagger with the Cobra for the win. After the match Santino power walks up the ramp as he’s being chased. Brodus Clay comes to the top of the ramp. Ziggler runs at him but he’s headbutted in mid air. Nice spot. The hot crowd chants “Funkasaurus.” Brodus’ music hits as he and Santino dance. His two dancers come out of nowhere and dance too. Santino dances with the Cobra. Where did the dancers come from? I love how they just appear out of nowhere. Pretty solid match. This crowd can seriously carry this show. It’s a hot Ring of Honor type crowd with nothing but smart marks.
Lord Tensai vs. Alex Riley –Finally the debut of Tensai. His Japanese servant comes out before him and throws rice. Tensai comes out looking like Shredder from the Ninja Turtles. His face is covered with a black Shredder mask. He is wearing a nice looking red robe. A Japanese sash runs down the front. His servant un-robes him in the ring. He takes off the mask to reveal Japanese writing across his face. It’s the man formerly known as A-Train from back in the early 2000’s. The crowd chants “A-Train.”
Riley runs towards him but is hit with a back elbow. A nasty back elbow too. I loved it. He shoves Riley in the corner and uses an uppercut. Jerry Lawler says “look at the strength and speed.” Really? He hasn’t moved much. How do we know he has speed? Tensai throws Riley into the opposite corner. He hits a series of headbutts. Inverted front suplex followed by multiple elbow drops. Running senton from Tensai. All of these moves have a lot of impact. He throws Riley back into the corner and uses multiple elbows to the side of the head. Everytime he throws an elbow the crowd yells “yes yes yes.” The crowd begins to chant “Daniel Bryan.” I’m in heaven tonight.
Tensai yells something in Japanese and uses his old WWE finisher. The referee stops the match via knockout. But then Riley starts to pull himself up. So why is this a knockout then? Tensai throws rice into the air. Riley gets up and is met with a head claw. Very impressive debut for Tensai. All of his moves were solid and stiff. I really liked this match. I really like this character. I don’t like how he somehow won by knockout, yet Riley got back up to his feet. It made no sense to me. Did he just take too much time so they stopped the match? I don’t get it. Regardless I really want to see Tensai vs. Brodus Clay. There is a ton of promise with Tensai. Damn did he get good in Japan. Your looking at a future world champion everyone. He reminds me of other good working big men like Vader, Umaga, Yokozuna, and Bam Bam Bigelow. That’s high praise.
WWE Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Mark Henry- A world title match in the middle of the show? I love it. Two title matches already. Great Raw so far. Mark Henry shoves Punk to the mat to start the match. Punk goes for shin kicks, but Henry catches them. Punk hits some nasty forearms to the face, followed by multiple drop kicks. Henry swats the third drop kick down. He clubs Punk’s back then stretches him over the ropes. The crowd chants “Daniel Bryan.” I should be in this crowd. This seriously is the best Raw crowd we will ever see in our lives. It’s the greatest crowd of all time. Congrats if you were in it.
Back to the match. Henry is standing on top of Punk’s back. The crowd isn’t paying attention. They are chanting “yes yes yes.” Henry kicks at Punk’s head. Henry yells “you move when I tell you to.” Punk finally makes it to his feet and tries to chop Henry down with kicks. Henry catches him in a bear hug, but Punk fights out with elbows. Every elbow gets a “yes” from the crowd. Punk kicks Henry’s chest multiple times. Every kick gets a “yes.” More “yes” chants from the crowd. Henry knocks Punk down and goes for a Vader bomb. The crowd chants “no no no.” OMG. I’m going to stop calling the wrestling and only call the crowd tonight. Punk goes for a springboard but he’s met with a clothesline from Henry. Commercial.
Henry is still in control after commercial. The crowd chants “Daniel Bryan.” Punk makes it to his feet and both guys punch and chop at each other. “Yes” chants for every Punk chop and “No” chants for every Henry punch. Punk goes to the top rope and uses the Macho Man Flying Elbow. More “yes” chants. Running high knee in the corner by Punk. Literally every single time a move is hit the crowd yells “yes.” Every single move. Before a move happens the crowd chants “ooooooooo” then “yes” once it’s hit. This is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen. Henry throws Punk to the outside after a bulldog attempt. Punk can’t make it back into the ring and is counted out. Henry wins by count out. Punk retains his title.
Henry goes to the outside and hits the World’s Strongest Slam on Punk. Laurinaitis comes out and says that Punk will continue to defend his title on a consistent basis. He says Punk will be hit with a natural disaster. Chris Jericho comes out of the crowd with a microphone. He wants to celebrate their great match with a drink. Jericho says he drinks, but not in excess, and he never drinks and drives. Haha. Keeping it PG. Jericho takes some liquor and pours it over Punk’s head. He kicks Punk and slips and falls over the puddle. The crowd laughs at him. Poor Jericho. He gets another bottle and talks about Punk’s family. He tells Punk not to drink too much because it will go straight to his head. He busts the bottle over Punk’s head. Great stuff. Pouring alcohol over Punk. Genius. So simple and yet such huge heat at the same time.
Sheamus comes out to the ring. He is booed by the AMAZING crowd. Before Sheamus can talk Alberto Del Rio’s music hits. Ricardo Rodriguez comes out to introduce him. Oh how I’ve missed Del Rio. And Ricardo. His “O” on Rio is held longer than ever. The crowd chants “Si si si si si si.” So amazing. I don’t even know what else to say. Del Rio starts his promo about Sheamus losing his title, but the crowd drowns him out with “Daniel Bryan” chants. The crowd chants “si si si si si” some more. Sheamus talks but he’s booed heavily. Del Rio tells Sheamus that he’s been given a World Championship match on Smackdown Friday. The crowd chants “We want Bryan.” Del Rio’s mic starts to cut out. He switches mics and is Brogue Kicked in the face when he turns around. The crowd boos Sheamus some more.
Daniel Bryan is in the back. Finally. The crowd pops big time when they see him. Josh Matthews interviews him. He stares at Matthews and doesn’t answer anything.
Machine Gun Kelly is shown at ringside. The crowd boos him.
Cody Rhodes vs. Kofi Kingston- Rhodes hits a clothesline to start. He’s angry after his loss last night. He charges Kofi but is met with boots to the face. Springboard cross body off the top rope from Kofi. Rhodes punches him and hits the Beautiful Disaster Kick. He picks Kofi up for Cross Rhodes but Big Show’s music hits. Big Show shows a video on the Titan Tron. It’s a “Big Show Presents: Another Embarrassing Cody Rhodes Wrestlemania Moment.” It’s Big Show knocking Rhodes out at Wrestlemania last night. Rhodes is angry. He is hit with Trouble In Paradise by Kofi. That’s the match. Kofi wins. I don’t like short matches, but I did like the Big Show video. Kinda funny. A good idea. Good Raw so far.
Mark Henry and Abraham Washington are in the back. Yes the guy that used to have his own show on ECW. Washington wants to be Henry’s manager. He gives Henry his card. The Abraham Washington Show used to be pretty funny a few years ago. Tony Atlas and his laugh really made it though. Giving Henry a manager kinda sends him back to the way he used to be though. His main event status is about over. He should probably retire soon. Mainly because I don’t ever want to see him again.
Eve Torres comes out to the ramp. The crowd chants “hoeski.” Eve says that everyone wants their Wrestlemania moment and that she got hers last night. The crowd chants “we want Ryder woo woo woo.” Eve says its easy to manipulate any man. Except for John Laurinaitis. Because powerful men can’t be manipulated. She puts over Laurinaitis’ “people power.” Eve is turning in to a great heel.
The Miz vs. Zack Ryder- This is exactly what I want to see. Very loud “let’s go Ryder woo woo woo” chants. Ryder runs at Miz with a forearm to the face. Miz rolls to the outside, but Ryder chases him, and sends his face off the barricade. Sunset flip back into the ring by Ryder. Miz gets up and hits an elbow to the face. Ryder comes back by pushing Miz into the corner and punching him down. Miz hits a boot to the face. He gets on Ryder’s back and hits multiple forearms across the front of the face. Ryder is Irish whipped into the corner. Miz charges but is met with double knees to the face. A few reversals happen until Ryder face plants Miz into the mat. Running forearm in the corner followed by the Broski Boot. Two count. Ryder goes for a neckbreaker, but he’s sent shoulder first into the corner. Skull Crushing Finale by Miz for the win. Good match. Very fast paced. It’s great to see The Miz winning again. Miz mocks Ryder’s fist pump. It looks like Ryder is going to have a downward spiral until his re-push. They wont bury him people. They will just get a lot of heat against him to build him as an even bigger face. People are already feeling sorry for him. And that’s a good thing. I love what they are doing with both Miz and Ryder. Finally. The writers are starting to do things the right way. Just a little bit. Most of them still need fired though.
John Cena comes to the ring. Huge boos from the crowd. They did a nice job making his arrival and reaction anticipated tonight. They showed a bunch of old promo clips throughout the night then waited until the end of the night to bring him out. Everyone wanted to know what Cena would do. I love how they held it off. Cena quotes Muhammad Ali about accepting loss. Cena says he’s meant everything he said over the last few months. He never thought he was going to lose. Does this mean he thought he was going over until Vince told him otherwise near the actual show? Maybe so. The crowd chants “your a loser.” This crowd is much more anti Cena than the Wrestlemania crowd was. Cena says “will this finally be the day I lash out at the WWE Universe?” The crowd chants “yes yes yes yes” very loudly. Haha. Best YES of the night!!! Cena says that won’t happen. They boo loudly.
Cena says he will man up and admit defeat. He gives a shout out to Machine Gun Kelly. The fans boo him again. Cena says he is not here to call out The Rock. He says he did that for the last year and that its settled. The crowd chants “we want Lesnar.” Which trends on Twitter. Cena says he wants The Rock. He wants The Rock to know that he considers him an inspiration and the greatest WWE wrestler in this industry. Cena wants another celebration for Dwayne Johnson in this ring. Cena says he laid everything out physically and went way over the line verbally. Interesting line there from Cena. The crowd chants “we want Lesnar.” Cena tries to play it off. He keeps going back to The Rock. Finally he acknowledges the “yes” chants and does them himself. He says “Daniel Bryan you owe me one.” The crowd chants “Daniel Bryan.” Cena says “this is why I love Raw.” He invites The Rock to the ring.
Brock Lesnar’s music hits. He walks out to the stage. Massive reaction. “Holy shit” chant from the crowd. Lesnar goes for a handshake then immediately picks Cena up and hits the F5. The crowd goes crazy as the show goes off the air.
Wow. What a Raw. Absolutely incredible. Raw tonight was a million times better than Wrestlemania was. The crowd was epic. Lesnar’s return was epic. I spoke in my Wrestlemania Recap last night about how it would make sense for Brock Lesnar to return and target Cena. Now that Cena is down and out after a Rock loss, it makes sense for another legend to come back and try to destroy his legacy. That is exactly what Brock will try to do. Hopefully they don’t try to build this for Wrestlemania 29. I want to see it immediately. Great Raw though. Lord Tensai was awesome. Miz winning was awesome. Punk was great against a larger opponent. The crowd was the best of all time. The WWE should have made a last second change and let Daniel Bryan come out to the stage for his wordless interview. That’s what the crowd deserved. And for all of my friends on here that argue that Punk is better than Bryan…just look at what happened tonight. The world knows that Daniel Bryan is the best in the world. After a very disappointing Wrestlemania I’ll be able to sleep easy tonight.
Because of the huge Daniel Bryan reaction tonight let’s look at the post show dark match. Here are a few Tweets from Travis King who was in the crowd tonight in Miami and reported on the off air match.
@mutualslump Daniel Bryan is in the dark match. And you thought Brock got a huge reaction…
@mutualslump It’s Bryan/Kane/Rhodes v Sheamus/Show/Orton
@mutualslump Faces d. Heels (Brogue kick, Sheamus pin Bryan). Sheamus celebrated with YES YES YES afterward. Dick.
There is only one way for me to end this article tonight….
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Follow Mark Brown on Twitter @FantasyGodmb.
Raw was off the charts. I am really looking forward to next weeks Raw. I will say this Lord Tensai is going to be wearing gold within the next six to eight months if they use him right. No Tensai vs Brodus unless Bordus goes to his monster gimmick then I would support it. I have never heard so many yes yes yes yes chants in all my life it was refreshing. Brock Leasner vs Cena Mania 29 I am calling it now. Zack Ryder is going to be over big time if they feud him with Miz. Daniel Bryan is very over in FL so I feel maybe he needs to get a second rub with the world title very very soon.
I am not looking forward to Raw next week. Here is why. Baseball begins this week. Which means I work next Monday because I work in baseball. Raw is in Washington DC. I don’t think I’ve missed a televised show in Washington DC since like 2002. I will not be attending next week because it’s too early in the baseball season. So it will be tough for me to watch Raw.
I can see Tensai winning gold in less time than that. The style clashes of Tensai and Brodus would be great. One dancing and one overly serious.
I don’t want to see Brock vs. Cena at Mania. That match already happened. There was a whole feud already. Brock vs. Cena needs to happen now. I want Brock back full time. Not just a few appearances like The Rock. I want Cena vs. Brock at Extreme Rules. Or have Brock in the corner of Cena’s opponent and hold it off one more month.
Ryder will be over big time at the end of this feud. I like that bigger picture. Bryan needs to win the World Title at Extreme Rules. I like Sheamus. But it’s certainly not his time. Ive always been a guy that wants to see the top in the business hold the straps. Punk and Bryan have to hold those straps for a long time.
Haha, I totally agree with everything you said (except i actually thought Wrestlemania was decent… way better than last year’s debacle). Anyway, I’m a huge Daniel Bryan fan (I’ve followed him ever since his indy days with ROH, back in the early 2000s) and I love how the crowd was so pissed he got screwed at Mania that they chanted his name during every freaking match. It was awesome. The matches were awesome, Rock and Cena’s promos were awesome, and Brock’s return was EPIC!!! Best Raw I’ve seen in years, at least since Bret Hart’s return a couple years ago.
I don’t think I’ve seen you comment before. Please come back and comment more often. I to have been following Bryan for a long time. Every week in these articles I’m disputing why Bryan is much better than Jericho and Punk. And I’m huge Jericho and Punk fans. I thought Wrestlemania was decent too. As awesome as Bryan’s reaction was tonight, I still would have erased that memory to have seen him wrestle last night. Bret Hart is my favorite of all time, so I loved the ending comment.
So some person(people) in the crowd spotted Brock backstage and the rumor went on through the crowd? How did they know?
nvm, the rumor of brock started yesterday..
Actually it was reported Saturday that Brock had signed with WWE. Most people were expecting to see him at Wrestlemania. Instead they waited until tonight.
your last paragraph summed up my feelings exactly. YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!! This Raw gets an A. easily. I loved the crowd all night. It really is a shame it cant be that way every Monday. Hot crowds make the show sooooo much better.
LOL at Punk calling Laurinaitis a toolbox. Funny stuff.
I thought the Rock did a great job of putting Cena over. He really had to after he won last night. Kudos to him for that. And yes he is funny. The Canadian football league/sucking comment was great. I hate his guts and having to watch him gloat for 20 minutes really blew tonight. But he did fine. He’s gone for a while now, so I can exhale. See you in 9 months, moviestar. Can’t wait to see you return to bury another top name. Even though I hate him, he really is good for business. I will give him that, because he is entertaining when he isnt just standing there with his doofus smile.
YES YES YES YES YES
The US title bout was rather enjoyable…kind of surprised (in a good way) to see Santino retain. Brodus’ headbutt on Ziggler was easily the spot of the night. I marked out.
I thought the A-Train match dragged a little. I dont know much about him, so I will be patient. He looked very impressive though. Best part of this match was the Daniel Bryan chants, along with the constant YES YES YES YES. Man that was awesome…all night. YES has replaced WHAT as my favorite wrestling word.
CM Punk vs Henry was fantastic. Punk made Henry look very good, which is why he is one of the best wrestlers in the world. All the YES YES YES and NO NO NO chants were great! even Punk laughed at one point. Hated the countout ending though. But I LOVED the Jericho bit. There’s no way that was alcohol in that bottle. Punk wouldnt stand for that. Jericho slipping was very funny. He even replied about that on twitter, trying to cover it up. I am actually digging this whole Raw GM abuse of power thing. I want to see where this “trying to screw over Punk” angle goes. Could be very intriguing and it would mean we get to see Punk wrestle a lot.
LOL at Sheamus getting booed. Happy to see Del Rioooooooooooooooo return. YES YES YES. I dont want to see him get a title shot though…it should be Bryan. LOVED the Si Si Si chants. Best crowd ever. Miami has become one of the best WWE crowds, behind NY and Chicago.
They definitely should have had Bryan make an appearance besides his backstage one. The crowd deserved it. I deserved it. You deserved it. Im starting to agree with you that Bryan may be the best in the world. He and Punk are on equal ground right now as my favorites and as the best. They need to make a new Bryan shirt that has the word “YES” embedded over every square inch of it. I would buy that in a heartbeat.
I thought it was great that there was a small “who are you” chant at Abraham Washington. Such a clever crowd.
Cena did great in his promo. I gave him a standing ovation when he came out. He deserved that after the crap sandwich he had to eat last night. He did great playing off the YES YES YES chants, and did all he could with the WE WANT LESNAR chants. Spoiler much?!? lol. Lesnar returning was awesome. HUGE pop. Havent seen an F5 in forever. Poor Cena :(. Gotta get that trending now instead of Poor Ryder. I really hope this match doesnt get dragged out til WM29. Lesnar is great, but he isnt Rocky. Please dont let this be a year-long thing…
Was an A Raw for sure. Fantastic show, fantastic crowd, great wrestling, intriguing storylines, and a new “best chant ever” YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES
It really is a shame that it can’t be that way every week. It surely won’t be that way next week in DC. I’m kinda pissed I can’t be there next week in DC. I’m always at DC shows. Oh well. By the way, it isn’t necessarily Miami. That crowd was a mixed Wrestlemania crowd with people from all over the world. All smart marks. The majority of the Wrestlemania crowd wasn’t from Miami either. When I flew to Los Angeles for Wrestlemania 21 I went to Raw the next night too. And I’m from Maryland.
I’m glad your starting to come around to the good that The Rock brings. I’m not a fan of his. I’m not a fan of Cena’s. I respect them both greatly. Especially for what they just did for the industry.
I liked the US title match too. I’m not a fan of face Santino at all…but he was impressive. He actually carried that match. The Brodus headbutt was sick. For me it’s a tie with the Tensai back elbow to start the match. I popped for them both.
I don’t think Tensai’s match drug on at all. I loved the slow methodical pace. Much different than what we usually see. Usually when big men have slow matches its because that’s all they can do (Khali, Henry.) Tensai does it out of strategy and style. Since you don’t know much about him, I’ll tell you that he was not impressive back in the day. He was a waste of time and space. I was rather shocked to see just how good he is now. That’s what Japan will do for some guys.
Excellent point on how “YES” has replaced “WHAT.” It is much better and much more relevant.
Punk carried the match with Henry and made it phenomenal. What does that tell you about Punk? The count out was fine in my book. It was a way to progress it a little longer. It’s going to be a mini feud while Punk still feuds with Jericho. I like mini feuds sometimes. The psychology was pretty good. Punk had so much momentum on that bulldog, and was launched so far out of the ring, that he couldn’t make it back in. That really puts over Henry’s strength. Only Punk, Bryan, and Cena have successfully put Henry’s strength over like that. Jericho was great. There was no way that it was alcohol, your correct. No chance. I think Punk will have a title match every week. And I love that. So I also love this GM storyline. Exciting stuff.
I like Sheamus and don’t feel he deserved to be booed. But it was still hilarious to see. He doesn’t book this stuff! Del Rio getting a title shot this early is stupid. He will job and it will bury him early.
Yes yes yes at your finally starting to agree with me on Bryan. Never doubt me. I notice talent before they are “cool.” I’m buying the first Daniel Bryan yes shirt they make as well.
I’ve said a couple times that I do not want to see Lesnar vs Cena at Wrestlemania 29. It definitely isn’t the same thing. Not as big as Rock vs. Cena. Mainly because it already happened.
This is the first time I have ever seen someone kiss the crowd’s ass. Nice work Mark. Keep up the good work.
It deserved to be kissed.
yeah that sucks that you have to miss attending Raw next week. I would hate that. Ive always understood what the Rock brings in terms of business. Anything that helps WWE make money is good enough for me. But whether Rocky wins or loses. WWE still makes out, which is why I still say he should have jobbed to Cena at WM. The Rock is above and beyond a superstar. He doesnt need to win the big ones anymore to stay relevant. I know, neither does Cena…but Cena is still there and Rocky is gone now.
Sheamus does not deserve to get booed, you are correct. But I would boo him if it came down to him vs Daniel Bryan, which is what happened. LOL I dont doubt you…I knew Bryan was special way long ago. I was telling you back in like November when he was barely relevant that he was the 2nd best in the world. Thats gotta count for something, right?? haha.
Well, Cena losing to The Rock makes this next angle with Lesnar make sense. That was the bigger picture. To progress Cena into a new angle with Lesnar. If legends continue to attack him because they hate him, how will he prevail? How can he beat Lesnar if he couldn’t beat Rock? What happens if he keeps losing and doubts himself as one of the greatest ever? Super Cena goes away. Then all thats left is an aggressive heel turn. The Rock loss was the beginning of something big.
If I were there I would have booed Sheamus too. And I like Sheamus. Back in November I was telling you that Daniel Bryan was the #1 best in the world. And I’m still right! Your just now realizing it haha. Bryan > Punk.
Touche on thinking Bryan is the best in the world long ago. I never doubted his talents, I just think Punk is the best for sentimental reasons (thats the mark in me). My favorite current wrestlers are: 1)CM Punk 2) Daniel Bryan 3) John Cena 4) Dolph Ziggler and 5) Zach Ryder. I think the safest thing to say is there is no one better than Punk or Bryan. They both bring it (not a Rock reference lol) in different ways that make them equally as good, imo. Either way, I cannot wait for them the feud. Classic matches are on the way!
Interesting top 5. Mine would be 1) Daniel Bryan 2) CM Punk 3) Zack Ryder 4) Chris Jericho 5) The Miz. Evan Bourn would probably be 5th if he wasn’t always suspended or injured. Bourn is a much better heel. I’m a William Regal fan for wrestling ability, but he never really wrestles anymore.
Evan Bourne has ridiculous talent, but his stupid drug suspensions have ruined him for me. I could never get behind him now. Y2J would be 6th for me. He is older and isnt up-and-coming, and is likely only staying for a short while more. Miz hasnt been relevant recently, but he is still in my top 10. Probs 7th. William Regal is my favorite superstar to never win a major title. I really wish they would have pushed him more when he was younger. He has awesome charisma, good mic skills, and wrestles stiff as heck. Love the dude.
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I am interested in seeing how Daniel Bryan is going to react to the loss. Aggressive or sad?
Also, I don’t think Tensai threw rice at his hand. It looked like he spat / poison misted into his hand before applying the claw. I do so hope that the claw is his new finisher, it would be bringing back an old but fun move.
Good breakdown article.
I’m sure Bryan’s first reaction will be “yes yes yes” after he does something huge. Like kick Sheamus’ head in or take the title back on Smackdown. WWE needs to cut their loses right now and put the title back on him. I am going with aggressive.
Good call on the poison mist. It could have very well been.
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brock lasner wapas aha gaya hy khey
WWE I always love to see. really WWE Raw Results 4/2 Brock Lesnar Returns, Rock vs Cena Aftermath is very good news for me. Rock is my favorite and the result is really very good. Thanks!!!
http://musclemaximizerfacts.com/
Brock Lesnar returns..wowwww..OMG …….wwe is entertaining nw a days……comon lesnar…comon lesnar…comon lesnar ………cheena suxxx…..
Great to see this much fan support! Lesnar will be great.
So glad that so many other people love D-Bryan. The crowd WAS amazing, and I hope they the suits backstage are getting the message.
They had to have gotten the message. I’m also glad to see that I’m not the only one. I’m glad I helped start the bandwagon and didn’t jump on late!
Brilliant Raw overall, the matches might have been just mediocre or average but with the amazing crowd and Lesnar’s return it was an epic night. Thank god, Cena and Rock feud is over now. For the moment it will be Cena and Brock feud, but I really hope it doesn’t end in Wrestlemania but earlier on. I am hoping Cena wins his match against Lesnar as this would make more sense. He needs a victory now to prove he is still one of the best in the company and the face of the business. If Lesnar wins it doesn’t matter there should be a rematch and then Cena can win that. WWE is pushing down Cena really hard by making him look smaller in front of The Rock and Brock Lesnar but at the end he should and will be victories, thus highlighting the fact that no one can end Cena’s destiny and Legacy. I really hope Tensai starts a good feud with someone. Maybe Kane, Brodus Clay, Big Show or Mark Henry? Also I want Austin to return and compete at Wrestlemania against Lesnar. That is a dream match and The Rock against CM Punk. I hate seeing Riley become a victim every time. When will they start giving him a push or is he on his way to leave the WWE? Am loving Punk and Jericho feud now. It really looks like it’s personal. Is Lesnar only appearing about 30 times a year? I want him to appear full time. John Cena should not loose the next wrestlemania for sure, but I wonder who he will fight. Also why is it that Miami loves Daniel Bryan so much? The crowd was behind Sheamus at Wrestlemania right?
Honestly I didn’t care about the matches last night. That is the only time you will ever hear me say that. The crowd was better. The matches were solid though btw. Am I the only one that loved the Tensai match? Loved it. It seems that nobody wants to see Lesnar vs Cena at Wrestlemania. I don’t think that will happen. But knowing how clueless the writers are…maybe. I hope Cena continues to lose. Let me copy and paste an above paragraph to explain why.
Well, Cena losing to The Rock makes this next angle with Lesnar make sense. That was the bigger picture. To progress Cena into a new angle with Lesnar. If legends continue to attack him because they hate him, how will he prevail? How can he beat Lesnar if he couldn’t beat Rock? What happens if he keeps losing and doubts himself as one of the greatest ever? Super Cena goes away. Then all thats left is an aggressive heel turn. The Rock loss was the beginning of something big.
That’s the first pro Riley comment I’ve ever seen. I think he is overly cocky on the mic and isn’t as good as he thinks. He in ring skills are weak too. He is getting himself over with the “say it to my face” line, but he just doesn’t impress me. He had his push against Miz and got no crowd reaction.
I think Lesnar will make permanent appearances for at least a year.
Here is my take on the Miami crowd. People come from all over for Wrestlemania. A lot of local marks in Miami also get tickets to Wrestlemania. The crowd definitely cheered Daniel Bryan at Mania. They even took a close up shot of the fans pointing in the air and yelling yes. Sheamus got a small reaction when he won from the marks. The real fans were silent, stunned, and angry. The real wrestling fans fly in to Wrestlemania for the entire experience. They go to fan Axxess, the Hall of Fame, Wrestlemania, and Raw the next night. The marks only get the Wrestlemania tickets. So the crowd last night were the good fans from all over the country that stayed the extra day on vacation. Thus you get an entire crowd of smart marks. The smart marks love real wrestlers. Daniel Bryan is the best pure wrestler in the world. So the crowd was 100% for him. Especially after his BS loss at Mania. It was the fans way of backlashing for the quick Bryan loss.
Best RAW recap you have written yet!!!!
YES YES YES YES YES!
YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!! YES!!!!
Well,ego-Rocky acknowledging Cena at d start of the show did manage 2 cul me off a bit………….though he’s still d biggest egotistical bastard I’ve ever seen.Bt it’s true that he revived WWE’s fortunes 2 a gr8 xtent with his return n I’ll admit anyday that he’s undoubtedly the greatest entertainer in the history of this business.He said he wants the WWE title,which pretty much tells me that he’s gonna start pursuing it round February nxt yr n he’ll probably end up facing Cena at WM29 for the title when Cena retains n evens this out.The build m8 b similar 2 d 1 of the Taker-HBK rematch……..n I for one sincerely hope that this happens n Rock finally shows his balls,instead of blabbing bout his “stroodle”.Nywayz,I’ve gotta salute Vince’s supreme promotional prowess cuz I’m honestly telling ya…………..this feud literally turned sum of my friends who were absolutely unaware bout wrestling,in2 avid WWE viewers……no other feud cud hav achieved this feat I believe.I jst hope it re-ignites nxt yr for sum more thrills n spills.
Punk n Bryan r undoubtedly the bst wrestlers in the world n I can’t wait 2 c these 2 put on a wrestling clinic 2gether.Bryan may vry well b a better wrestler than Punk………bt I jst feel Punk z a better package with his terrific mic skills.Maybe,time’ll prove me wrong.
As for Lesnar’s return,WWE cudn’t hav timed it better.As Rock rides off 2 Hollywood,bringing him back 2 take on Cena was a terrific move,which’ll certainly retain most of the viewership,unlyk last yr.When Lesnar 1st took on Cena,Cena was jst an upstart……..now that he’s reached meteoric heights,it’ll b interesting 2 c how this feud progresses.
Jst 1 thing………..Cena-Lesnar,Mix-Ryder,the possibility of Punk-Bryan…………..r we dreaming or WWE really replace sum of their creative staff overnight???????????????
Overall,the show was xcellent,the crowd jst made it better!!!!!!
Seems lyk everyone z doing it,I guess I’ll join in too……..
YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!YES!!!!
Your right that Cena/Rock got everyone interested in wrestling. And because Rock came back and did that for the WWE, I can’t say he’s egotistical or self centered. He did help the company. But then again, it was just to put him over in the end. I honestly hope they don’t do Cena vs Rock 2. I would like to see it, but it wouldn’t make sense. The “once in a lifetime” thing has to stand. Historically if you go back and watch this Wrestlemania, it wouldn’t mean anything if there were more matches. Now Rock vs. Punk intrigues me. Both men went over on Cena and appear to be stronger than him.
Don’t sleep on Daniel Bryan’s mic skills. He does everything so perfectly on the mic. Great timing. I mean, look at who started “yes yes yes yes.” Something so simple has taken over the wrestling world. The chant is being done at every single wrestling show in the world right now. It even happened at the TNA tapings. Punk is great on the mic because he’s a smart ass and a quick thinker. That’s just being a great trash talker. Bryan is better on the mic because his promos are more strategic and well timed.
Your exactly right on the timing of Brock. Those fans from the early 2000’s who came back to see The Rock, now have a reason to stay.
Yes Yes Yes!!!
I would like to see The Undertaker vs The Rock in a casket match at wresltmania 29 The ego vs The streak
That’s intriguing. The Rock looks very strong following this win. It would be too easy to predict that Undertaker wins though. The casket wouldn’t be needed. No gimmicks are needed. We just found that out at Wrestlemania this year with the stupid cell.
Hi Mark,
really good article! One of our writers has written a response to your Wrestlemania comment – http://www.v2journal.com/booted-into-the-limelight.html
Would love to chat to you about stuff via email but your twitter link doesnt seem to work.
Although we are based in the UK, this (for my money) is the definitive RAW review each week. Well done!
Sure Daniel Bryan is the best pure wrestler in WWE and possibly the world but I think Punk is perhaps the all around better entertainer.
I can’t agree. I will copy and paste something from an above comment.
Don’t sleep on Daniel Bryan’s mic skills. He does everything so perfectly on the mic. Great timing. I mean, look at who started “yes yes yes yes.” Something so simple has taken over the wrestling world. The chant is being done at every single wrestling show in the world right now. It even happened at the TNA tapings. Punk is great on the mic because he’s a smart ass and a quick thinker. That’s just being a great trash talker. Bryan is better on the mic because his promos are more strategic and well timed.
Furthermore Bryan is a better wrestler in my eyes. I like European style and submission based wrestling. Punk is more of a Japanese striker, which is cool, but not completely my style. Both are amazing, but I prefer Bryan. As you could see from Raw, most of the world agrees with me.
Hey folks we are a new up & coming radio show and we are looking to interact with those that are going to the WWE Raw Supershow at the Verizon Centere on 4/9/12. You can be live on the air and share your WWE experience and talk about how awesome it was to see Brock Lesnar back in the ring. Also if you have photos we would love for yout o share them with us and other wrestling fans. Those intrested please send us a email at enfinity1productions@gmail.com
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and isn’t that a good article