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 6/11/12 from Hartford, CT- 3 Hour Show
John Laurinaitis comes out to start the show. He is riding his awesome “People Power” scooter. He gets in the ring and goes into his normal “my name is Mr. John Laurinaitis” speech. After he spits out one line Mr. McMahon’s music hits. Vince comes to the ring with his power walk. The crowd chants “Vince” loudly. Vince doesn’t want to shake Laurinaitis’ hand as he says he doesn’t know where its been. He wants Laurinaitis to give him one reason why he shouldn’t be fired right now. Laurinaitis’ says “two words…People Power!” He says Raw is approaching it’s 100th episode. Michael Cole immediately laughs at his mistake because Raw is obviously approaching 1,000 episodes. The crowd chants “fire Johnny.” This crowd is hot. Laurinaitis tries to tell Vince about what they have in common. He says they are both business men. Vince brings up the Brock Lesnar signing and the two lawsuits that resulted in it. He makes a joke about Laurinaitis actually hiring the wrong one legged wrestler. I’m assuming he’s speaking of Zach Gowan. I’m not familiar with that story. Vince asks why Laurinaitis re-signed Big Show to big deal. Laurinaitis reminds Vince that DX once shoved his head up Big Show’s ass. #NoChanceInHell, Vinny Mac, and Mr. McMahon are all trending on Twitter. Laurinaitis keeps rambling on. Vince says “we can’t even understand you.”
Sheamus’ music hits. There is some bad improv off the top between the three. Stick to the scripts guys. Sheamus complains about how he was fined half a million dollars. #FireJohnny is the #1 trend worldwide on Twitter. Vince stops the conversation to point out that fact, since it was up on the Titan Tron. That’s the first time I’ve seen someone reference that on air. The crowd erupts and chants “yes yes yes yes yes!” Sheamus wants Laurinaitis fired. Laurinaitis is going to go to the back to find an opponent for Sheamus. Vince stops him and tells him to make every match tonight impressive. If he doesn’t he will hear these two words…”yyyooouuurrrr ffffiiiirrrreeedddd.” Good opening segment. Vince was entertaining like he always is. He even gets on the awesome People Power scooter and rides it up the ramp. Then he throws it off the ramp once he’s at the top. Michael Cole yells “how is Johnny going to get around the locker room now?” That made me laugh. Nice start to the show. Now let’s hope the matches truly are “impressive.”
World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus vs. Lord Tensai w/ Sakamoto- They talk about the Alberto Del Rio injury and how he won’t be able to compete at the PPV. Laurinaitis comes out to introduce Tensai and say “he’s not in a good mood.” Tensai comes out angrily and pushes through Sakamoto on the ramp. Tie up to start. Elongated tie up with both big men trying to get the power advantage. Sheamus whips him off the ropes and is hit with a shoulder block. Sheamus applies a headlock, is whipped, attempts his own shoulder block, but can’t knock Tensai down. Sheamus comes back strong with kicks and punches. Big boot in the corner by Sheamus. Back and forth brawling from both guys. Back elbow from Tensai off of an Irish whip to Sheamus. Sheamus ducks a short arm clothesline and fires back with forearm shots. Sheamus clotheslines Tensai to the outside as we go to break. Not a very impressive match so far with mostly brawling. What else can you expect with two big men?
Back from break Sheamus is fighting out of a corner. Irish whip from Tensai to the opposite corner followed by a running splash. Vader Bomb by Tensai. Funny how he used that because he is similar to Vader. Especially with the successful Japanese run. Sheamus is bleeding. He fires back with punches and an upper knee lift. He goes for the Irish Curse Backbreaker, but Tensai fights out with elbows. He clotheslines Sheamus to the outside apron. Sheamus hangs on and fights back with punches. He uses his chest pounds over the ropes but on the opposite side. Sheamus goes to the top rope and comes off with an axe handle, but he’s caught. Sit out powerbomb by Tensai. False finish two count. Both men are now back on their feet. Sheamus hits a Brogue Kick for the win. What? How did Sheamus recover that quickly from the finisher of Tensai? Through that entire match both guys were popping back up after every big move. There was absolutely zero psychology in that one. Just a bunch of big men spots. I really didn’t feel that match at all. And now Tensai is a jobber apparently. Two loses in a row.
Laurinaitis, Vince McMahon, and Teddy Long are in the back. Vince tells Laurinaitis “that was strike one.” Vince asks who Sheamus’ opponent for the title will be. Vickie Guerrero comes out of nowhere and says that there are two former World Champions on the roster with Ziggler and Swagger. Vince says they will take that into consideration. Laurinaitis asks Teddy Long his idea for tonight. Teddy says to take the four former champions and put them in a Fatal 4 Way match. Those four would be Ziggler, Swagger, Great Khali (gag), and Christian. Laurinaitis tells Teddy to go get him coffee. He attempts to fist pump Vince, but Vince says “you have small hands” and walks away. Everything Vince says is pretty funny tonight.
Lord Tensai and Sakamoto are still in the ring. Tensai attacks him. He pushes him down and stomps him. Punches to the head by Tensai. Sakamoto is thrown over the top rope to the outside. Tensai pushes his head into the commentary table then slams it off. Tensai throws the back of his head into the turnbuckle. Next he throws him into the barricade upside down. Tensai drives his knees into the face of Sakamoto into the barricade.
Raw Most Memorable Moments Video- Celebrity Seth Green talks about the night he teamed up with John Cena and Triple H. Seth Green is trending on Twitter.
R-Truth is interviewed by Matt Stryker- He is talking to himself. He says Lil Jimmy has been up all night. He tells Lil Jimmy to stop being so sensitive. Truth says Big Show is going to lose to John Cena. Then a gigantic fist appears in the screen against Truth’s jaw. Weapon of Mass Destruction. Big Show walks away as Truth is knocked out. This is obviously their way of writing R-Truth off since he was recently injured on a house show.
Hype video for the 1,000th episode of Raw. They promote DX for it. They also show Stone Cold, Bret Hart, Undertaker, and Roddy Piper on the video. Is the 1,000th episode something we should get hyped up about? Or will it just be a monumental bust from the awful current Raw writers? I’m betting on the later. Trying not to get my hopes up. They will probably have my two favorite wrestlers of all time Bret Hart and Daniel Bryan job in a handicap match to The Great Khali.
United States Champion Santino Marella and Diva’s Champion Layla vs. Ricardo Rodriguez and Beth Phoenix- Ricardo is in a tux. He doesn’t want to wrestle. He runs to the outside and grabs the tag rope quickly. So Beth and Layla start. First time we’ve seen a Diva’s match in awhile. Layla applies a headlock to start. Rodriguez wants a tag, but Layla kicks at his hand. He runs in the ring but is kicked by Layla. This gives Beth a chance to take over. Kicks from Beth. Suplex by Beth where she bounces Layla’s legs off the ropes. Ricardo tags in thinking he will face Layla. Once he finds out Santino is in the ring he screams and runs out. Tag to Beth. Layla hits her with a sprinboard dropkick. Double headscissors by Layla where she also catches Ricardo, who is again randomly in the ring. Ricardo flies to the outside where Santino is. Santino puts on the Cobra glove. Ricardo gets up, sees the Cobra, turns around, runs away, and goes face first into the turnbuckle. Pretty funny spot. Back in the ring Beth sends Layla into the corner. When she bounces back out she’s caught in the Glam Slam. Beth and Ricardo win. Ricardo dances. Santino rips his shirt off. It’s a Justin Bieber shirt. Santino laughs at him. Ricardo runs out crying. Actually a pretty funny match. I’m okay with it. I like comedy matches once in awhile. Good to see Beth go over on the worthless Layla.
Vince McMahon and David Otunga are in the back. Otunga wants to replace Laurinaitis if he’s fired. Vince doesn’t like back stabbers or lawyers. Kofi Kingston comes barging in. He wants to fight Big Show. Laurinaitis comes in and says R-Truth isn’t doing well. He makes Big Show vs Kofi a steel cage match.
Daniel Bryan comes to the ring. Loud YES chants from the crowd. Excellent crowd tonight in Connecticut. They are super hot. Bryan says he’s nothing like CM Punk or Kane. He says they both have a 95 pound distraction named AJ. Bryan says Punk is jealous of him and is trying to get his ex girlfriend. Bryan says “Kane thinks its getting to second base when a woman looks him in the eyes and doesn’t vomit.” That made me lol. Bryan says both men are trying to get with a woman who is still in love with Daniel Bryan. The crowd is chanting YES very loud. He says “once you go Bryan, there’s no point in tryin.” What? Lol. Question and answer time is short tonight. “This Sunday will I be the new WWE Champion?” YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!
CM Punk’s music hits. Punk says Bryan sure does talk about AJ a lot. He says AJ is way out of Bryan’s league. He says inside the ring Bryan isn’t close to Punk’s league. Ummm…negative. Punk says AJ is crazy and he digs crazy chicks. He puts over the title match on Sunday. Punk says “I’m going to beat the deranged out of his mind freak…or I’m going to beat Kane.” I get it. That means Bryan is the freak right? How dare you make fun of Bryan. Bryan says Punk is the voice of the voiceless, but the people are voiceless because they have nothing intelligent to say. He says they love to yell sell out at the Big Show, but the biggest sell out in the company is CM Punk. Punk talks about his epic promo a year ago where he did a shoot on the company. He says he hasn’t changed at all. He says he achieved success on his own terms. Punk talks about how Bryan changed after he won the title. He calls him an “obnoxious goat faced moron.” Don’t know what that means but the crowd chants “goat face.” This crowd is so silly. Punk says he will put Bryan to sleep Sunday.
Bang. Here comes Kane. Byran jumps as he did last week. He over sells the pyro and it’s hilarious. Time for this awesome promo to be ruined by the guy who doesn’t deserve to be in this feud. Kane says over the years he set fire to Jim Ross, electrocuted Shane McMahon’s testicles, and tombstoned a priest. Haha. Good start. Kane says his pipe bombs are actually pipe bombs. AJ comes to the ring saying “stop.” AJ tells Kane that she looked into his eyes last week and could see his heart. Punk says “you have to love crazy chicks.” The crowd chants “crazy chicks.” This is probably the second best wrestling crowd of the year behind the one the night after Wrestlemania. #GoatFace is the #1 trend worldwide. This is great! AJ says nobody ever gets over their first love, so she still likes Bryan. She says Punk is the coolest guy shes ever met in her life. She says this Sunday the best man will win. Which again puts over the idea that whoever AJ goes with will win the title. Laurinaitis appears on the Titan Tron to say that Daniel Bryan and Kane will team up against CM Punk and AJ. Good stuff. Great promo by all of them. That’s the first time in awhile I didn’t mind hearing talking. Highly entertaining.
#1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship: Fatal 4 Way Match: Intercontinental Champion Christian vs. The Great Khali vs. Dolph Ziggler w/ Vickie Guerrero vs. Jack Swagger w/ Vickie Guerrero- All four guys are in the ring at once. Khali starts the match with two chops to the head. Then he chops Christian in the corner. Headbutt to Ziggler. Chop to Swagger in the corner. Headbutt to Ziggler. Botched chop against the ropes to Ziggler. Who botches a chop? Honestly? Khali sends Swagger and Ziggler into one another. Chop in the corner to Swagger. Repetitive much? Why has he gotten this much offense? Swagger finally takes out his knees. Ziggler dropkicks him. Christian comes off the top rope with a Frog Splash. All three guys pins Khali. Khali is eliminated. This is elimination? They never said that once. Commercial break.
Back from break Christian is fighting off Ziggler and Swagger. Dropkick to the face by Ziggler. Pancake powerbomb from Swagger into a face buster by Ziggler. Vickie slaps Christian. More double teaming from the heels. Christian back body drops Ziggler over the top rope. Swagger clotheslines Christian off the ropes. Sunset flip by Christian. He goes to the top rope and hits a flying back elbow. Ziggler comes back in with a rollup for a two count. Chrstian sends the two heels into one another and attempts the Killswitch. Swagger gets out, pushes Chrstian off the ropes, and misses a Swagger Bomb. Christian rolls over with another sunset flip for a two count. Swagger comes out of the pinfall attempt with an Ankle Lock. He rolls through after awhile, which sends Swagger into the turnbuckle. Killswitch by Christian. Ziggler comes out of nowhere and pins Swagger. Nice!!!!!
Christian rolls up Ziggler for a two count. The crowd chants “let’s go Ziggler.” Back body drop by Christian. Ziggler gets back up with a dropkick to Christian’s arm. Ziggler applies a nasty leg lock to Christian. Christian eventually kicks him off. Clotheslines by Christian. Ziggler jumps over him, applies a sleeper, but is thrown off. Ziggler jumps for the Zig Zag but his legs are caught. Catapault into the corner. Christian hits a running spear. False finish two count. Ziggler reverses the Killswitch into a Fame Asser. Another false finish two count. Ziggler misses a bulldog and is hit with a reverse DDT. False finish #3 two count. Christian goes to the top rope but Ziggler stops him. He jumps off as Ziggler moves. Zig Zag by Ziggler for the win. Dolph Ziggler’s push has begun as he is now the #1 contender for the World Championship at the PPV this Sunday. Excellent match. Swagger, Ziggler, and Christian were all highly impressive. Christian really brings out the best in people. Ziggler yells “it’s about damn time.” True that. Ziggler walks up the ramp where Sheamus stares him down.
Vince McMahon and Natalya are in the back. She talks about how special the Vince vs Bret Hart match was at Wrestlemania. I certainly agree. Vince blows her off. He walks up to the Funkadactuls Cameron and Naomi. They want Vince to overturn Laurinaitis’ decision that bans Brodus Clay from Raw. They announced that on Smackdown. Vince yells “somebody call my mamma.” The lights go out, disco lights come on, and Vince dances with the Funkadactuls in the back. That was great. Damn Vince is good. Next is Zack Ryder. He’s standing there dumbfounded. Vince says “woo woo woo you know it.” Seeing Vince interact with all the new talent is hilarious. And the Funkadactuls were very funny. I liked how they talked at the same time. I didn’t realize how much charisma they had. Great segment. Vince is money tonight.
Ryback vs. Willard Fillmore and Rutherford Hayes- Fillmore and Hayes get a promo down the ramp. I want Stan Stansky. One of them runs at Ryback but is caught in a powerbomb. He powerbombs him twice. The other guy leaves the ring and tries to run away. He is met with a sick clothesline on the outside. Ryback took his head off. Hilarious. Ryback presses him back into the ring. FINISH IT!!! Goldberg chants from the crowd. This guy is way better than Goldberg. Sorry to break it to you people. Ryback hits the double finish for the win. Great stuff. But we want Stan Stansky. Why wasn’t he signed? Stan Stansky > Colin Delaney. Stan Stansky for WWE Hall of Fame. Ryback vs Stan Stansky rematch at Wrestlemania. I can go on all night. I love Ryback. That clothesline was the spot of the night by far. FEED ME MORE, FEED ME MORE, FEED ME MORE!!!!!
Vince McMahon and Hornswoggle are in the back. They are watching the clip from Smackdown when Hornswoggle was dressed up like Jim Ross. Vince puts the cowboy hat on and makes fun of Jim Ross. In walks John Cena. Cena tells Vince the sooner Laurinaitis is out of a job the better. Vince reminds Cena that he lost to The Rock at Wrestlemania. Cena wants to know if Wrestlemania wins and loses are how success is measured. He brings up Vince losing to Hulk Hogan Bret Hart, his son, and asked if he lost to Snooki or if that was someone else. Haha. Vince doesn’t want Cena to interfere in tonight’s cage match. David Otunga comes running up. He wants to talk about why Vince doesn’t like lawyers. Vince says he doesn’t like when people suck up to other people and kiss their behinds. He turns around and says “no offense” to William Regal, who randomly appears there. Of course that was a joke about Regal joining the Kiss My Ass Club years ago. Still good stuff. I like all the throwback jokes tonight. Vince is bringing back an old school feel tonight. His charisma and comedic timing is what the show has been lacking. It’s Attitude Era-esque. I seriously wonder why these writers can’t do this stuff on normal weeks?
Steel Cage Match: Kofi Kingston vs. The Big Show- Kofi jumps Big Show before he gets in the ring. Big Show fights back with hard clubs to the back. Big Show throws Kingston face first into the steel. Another clubbing blow to the back, followed by a body slam. He pushes Kofi’s head into the steel and holds it there. Another toss into the steel face first. The pace of this match is pretty slow. Big Show steps on Kofi’s throat and elevates himself with the turnbuckle. He picks Kofi up and presses him into the steel back first. This match is so slow that I have time to talk about other things. Like how Stan Stansky vs Big Show in a steel cage would be better. Kofi is thrown into the steel again. I was thinking this match could be cool given Kofi’s athletic ability, but it appears that it will be a squash and a bust. They could fit 5 Diva’s matches into the time it takes for Big Show to walk around the ring. Notice how everything involving someone big tonight has been terrible? And all the stuff involving little guys have been great?
Kofi tries to get up, but he’s fought back down. Then Big Show walks around the ring for another minute before again stepping on Kofi’s throat. Kofi is Irish whipped into the corner. He charges with a splash, but Kofi gets the boots up. Kofi goes to jump off the top rope, but he’s caught in a choke slam. Big Show tosses Kofi into the cage, but he catches on and starts to climb up. Big Show runs at him, but Kofi jumps off to Big Show’s back and hits Trouble In Paradise. Big Show presses Kofi straight off after a two count. But he presses Kofi towards the door. Kofi attempts to crawl out but his legs are caught. Kofi kicks Big Show off and has one last escape attempt. He’s caught again and pulled up. Weapon of Mass Destruction. Then Big Show looks at the crowd for at least two more minutes before walking out of the door for the win. The match actually got good there while Kofi was on offense. Nice spots towards the end there. Other than that it was a slow waste of time. Laurinaitis is shown in the back smiling. Big Show mocks Cena’s “you can’t see me.”
Sin Cara vs. Curt Hawkins- Blue and orange mood lighting. Love it. Sin Cara rolls through an arm bar lucha libre style. Bounce off the ropes followed by an impressive spinning head schissors. Corkscrew dive to the outside by Sin Cara. Hawkins catches his legs and bumps him to the floor. He goes for a pointless pin fall. Abdominal stretch by Hawkins. He picks him up on his shoulders, but Sin Cara rolls through. Hard kick by Sin Cara. Multiple drop kicks. Headstand off the ropes into a back elbow. Springboard arm drag. Roll through head scissor face bump for the finish. Sin Cara wins. Decent match. All of his matches are pretty repetitive. Even the heel heat time is repetitive. Although Hawkins did nothing with his time. He was terrible. All he could think of to go for was a pin fall after doing no in ring moves? It was a fun flippy match though.
Vince McMahon and Daniel Bryan are in the back. Bryan is stretching. Vince wishes him luck in his match. Vince tells him he doesn’t look like a wrestler. Bryan says he’s been fired from this company once and then proved Vince wrong. Vince says he’s never finished anything in 18 seconds then walks off. Ummmmmmmm.
Raw Most Memorable Moments Video- Dolph Ziggler talks about the first episode of Raw. He talks about Bobby Heenan trying to get in the building. July 23rd is the big day for the 1,000th episode.
Heath Slater is in the ring. He is going to face a special guest from the past. Slater wants to know why they are talking about the past. He says “it’s time it’s time it’s Slater time.” Which prompts the music “it’s time it’s time it’s Vader time!”
Vader vs. Heath Slater- Yes, the Vader that I referenced earlier in the Lord Tensai match without even knowing he would appear tonight. Red flashing lighting for Vader. Awesome. Vader looks better than he did last time he appeared. It’s been a very long time though. Tie up to start. Vader pushes Slater off. “Let’s go Vader” chants from the crowd. Vader pushes Slater into the corner and pounds him. Slater fights back but is met with a clothesline. Body smash from Vader as Slater is thrown off the ropes again. “You still got it” chants from the crowd. Suplex from Vader followed by a two count. Huge right arm strikes from Vader. His punches always were nasty. Slater attempts a body slam, but bumps backwards for a two count. Belly to belly suplex by Vader. The crowd chants “Vader Bomb.” Vader Bomb by Vader. Three count. Vader wins. The crowd ate that up. Vader Time is the #1 trend worldwide on Twitter. If they keep doing this every week this will be amazing. Seeing RARE legends matches are great. I’m not talking about the legends we see all the time like Dusty Rhodes and Sgt. Slaughter. I’m talking rare legends like Vader, Psycho Side, and Ultimate Warrior. If they do this every single week leading up to the 1,000th episode it will be great. Because of this segment I’m thinking that the 1,000th episode might actually be great. I now have hope.
AJ is in the back. CM Punk walks up to her. She is freaking out. He won’t let anything happen to her. She says they really really like each other. She is acting crazy as normal. She kisses him on the cheek. He is frustrated.
Kane and Daniel Bryan vs. WWE Champion CM Punk and AJ- A new shrieking sound was added to Kane’s music. Where did that come from? Loud YES chants for Bryan. AJ comes out scared. Punk and Kane start. Kane kicks him in a tie up. Irish whip is reversed with a Punk kick to the face. Another Irish whip is reversed, but Punk moves, and hits a high knee in the corner. Clothesline by Kane. Tag to Bryan. Immediate loud YES chants from the crowd. Bryan kicks Punk on the mat multiple times. Loud YES chants on each one. Chin lock by Bryan. Punk works up, and hits a single leg drop kick. Swinging neck breaker from Punk, another high knee in the corner, and reversed bulldog into an Irish whip. Punk ducks a clothesline and hits a power slam. Diving Elbow off the top rope doesn’t connect because Bryan moves. Punk rolls to his corner for a tag, but forgets that it’s AJ. So he stops. Kane is tagged in. Punk is uppercutted into the corner and accidentally tags AJ. She climbs in the ring slowly as Punk falls to the outside floor.
AJ smiles at Kane again. Then she skips around him. She stands behind him to make him spin around. Then she jumps into his arms, wraps her legs around him, and makes out with him. It’s a pretty long two minute make out session. The crowd chants YES YES YES YES YES and “Kane’s my hero.” Kane tags Bryan and leaves. Punk is tagged back in and hits an elbow on a charging Bryan. Flying Elbow off the top rope by Punk for the win. Kane is still on the ramp confused. AJ sits down Indian style in the middle of the ring like Punk and laughs. Punk is freaked out. Kane is freaked out on the ramp. Bryan is staring in the ring freaked out. Everyone is staring at AJ. How phenomenal was that??!! Wow. Awesome awesome awesome. AJ might be the best woman character in WWE history. I’m serious. Plus the great wrestling by Punk and Bryan. That was amazing. FINALLY they make this the main event match and look what happens. Awesomeness. That make out segment was very Attitude Era-esque as well. I’m seeing a huge change. I think a decision was made to make major changes in content based on the low ratings and backlash the last few weeks. Something happened. Because this is great stuff.
Vince McMahon comes to the ring with security. It’s decision time on Laurinaitis’ job. Vince says he loves Connecticut. He says Stephanie was born in Hartford. He said since once life started there, another professional life should end there. He asks for Laurinaitis to come out without his scooter. The scooter is still laying where Vince dumped it earlier. Laurinaitis says he doesn’t appreciate what Vince did to his scooter. He says Vince doesn’t need security because he would never lay his hands on him. Vince says the security is for Laurinaitis. Laurinaitis says his actions tonight speak for themselves. He says he’s needed when Raw goes to three hours. He wants to continue to run the era of People Power. Vince says those two words are synonymous with Laurinaitis. He says he has two words that are synonymous with him. As he attempts to say “you’re fired” The Big Show comes out.
Big Show says his new contract allows him to say and do anything he wants. He says if Vince fires him he would have to pay him millions of dollars for many years to do nothing. Big Show says every stupid thing he’s had to do for the last 14 years was because of Vince. He did everything he wanted him to do. He says Vince made him entertain people. Big Show says Vince should be more concerned about the other John. His golden boy. Cena’s music hits. This will be their first encounter since the last PPV. Very loud boos for Cena. Cena says that Big Show first blamed Cena, then the crowd, and now Vince. He asks if Big show will blame McDonalds for putting chicken nuggets on sale. Another great line. Cena says the problem is Laurinaitis. Cena asks about Big Show’s comment about how he wasn’t allowed to be a giant. Cena says Big Show has been that big for 14 years. He says Big Show has the contract he wants, has management behind him, has the match he wants, and has the opponent he wants. He says he’s stacked the deck so high that he can’t lose.
He asks Big Show what happens if he doesn’t win. Cena says if Big Show loses there is nobody left to blame and will be the world’s largest disappointment. Then he has to show up every week with his new contract and listen to the people call him a sellout. Vince says he will be at ringside on Sunday. If Big Show loses he will fire Laurinaitis. Big Show attacks Cena. There is a scuffle with security before Big Show accidentally hits the Weapon of Mass Destruction on Vince. Everyone freezes and stops fighting. Big Show walks to the back. Laurinaitis is concerned for Vince. A propped guy gives the “X” sign that wrestling fans know means “legit injury.” I was just about to complain about how bad that segment was, until Cena came out. Great promo from Cena. Great idea for the WMD on Vince. Great idea to stop the action once it happened. It really added a lot of emphasis.
What the hell happened tonight? Why did Raw get so good? There sure was a change in the air. Was it because of the terrible ratings the last few weeks? Was it because they finally listened to people like me who have spoken the truth about the show? There was plenty to like tonight. The AJ/Punk/Bryan/Kane stuff was phenomenal. The Ziggler match was great. The Vader match was surprising. Plus more Ryback. Lot’s of wrestling tonight. When you think about how guys like Sin Cara and Kofi Kingston had solid spots on the undercard it really shows how strong this show was. Hopefully it doesn’t take Vince McMahon being on TV every week for this to happen. It must continue. Only complaints would be no Miz and no Zack Ryder. I still want to see Antonio Cesaro on Raw as well. And of course we didn’t get to see Stan Stansky.
Follow Mark Brown on Twitter @FantasyGodmb.
Goldberg is way better than that knockoff , the crowd was amazing. It made raw all that much better. I loved how during the first few minutes a guy in the crowd had a sign that said “lord tensai is a-train” , I looked for it later, I guess he got it confiscated, because I no longer saw it. I laughed out loud when shameus and lord albert fell to the floor and before the commercial break some guy in the front row yelled “hey prince albert!” The crowd was indeed hot, chanting for ziggler was awesome as well as the “let’s go hawkins chant”. There was even one guy who yelled “bring back mysterio already! This is a joke!” Lmao that crowd was some funny shit . The goldberg chants made my night. I thought they stopped with that because they didn’t chant them last week on raw. Did I make it clear yet that I loved this crowd. Good recap man, everything was dead on. I’m glad some people still love to chant yes, the raw after wrestlemania was amazing. I was hoping the crowds would continue to chant that, it brings out the energy in the arena.
I was never a Goldberg fan. He was inferior to Austin in so many ways. Ryback is much more entertaining and stiff than Goldberg was. A good crowd can make Raw better. I like Tensai personally. Ziggler deserves the cheers. I did hear the Mysterio thing. I don’t really miss Mysterio though. Definitely a hot crowd though! Keep commenting!
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Pingback: WWE Wrestling Videos » WWE News: Vince McMahon to Appear at No Way Out, Stipulation Added to Main Event - Bleacher Report
It was great seeing Vince come back. I was really enjoying his promo with Laurinitis. Every word coming out of Vince’s mouth was gold. I didn’t really like the idea of Sheamus butting in the segment but he was okay.
I noticed that Tensai was getting more and more frustrated with Sakamoto. But I thought Sakamoto was going to turn against him but it turned out to be the opposite. I think that attack wasn’t even in the script and Tensai is just angry about being a jobber.
I was crying with laughter on your comments about Stan Stansky! I can’t believe you still remember him! You know how you said you wanted Bryan to be at your wedding? Well incase he doesn’t come, invite Stansky instead! Laurinitis should have just scrapped the Fatal 4 Way match and give the WHC match to Stansky. Right now, I can’t believe I just done a whole paragraph on a one-off jobber.
The Bryan/Kane vs Punk/AJ match was AMAZING! Best segment on Raw this whole year. AJ is really heating everything up. I was actually surprised when AJ kissed Kane. I agree with your comment on AJ being the best ever woman character in WWE. And Punk and Bryan put up a great match.
Raw was spectacular for once. It was the best episode since the one after Wrestlemania. I hope it stays like this now. And I want Vince to become a regular in Raw and Smackdown.
Vince was gold. Great comedic timing. I didn’t really know how to comment on Tensai turning on Sakamoto, so I didn’t. I don’t see it being a long term thing. I’m sure Sakamoto will be back with him next week. It was definitely scripted though bro. He was waiting in the ring for commercial to come back. He would have exited much sooner if it weren’t.
I sure did miss Stan Stansky! I can’t give him the wedding invitation though lol. He follows me on Twitter, so I like him. Sheamus vs Stansky would have been money though. I woulda bought it for that.
I can’t describe how phenomenal the AJ storyline is. It reminds me of ECW. That’s how good it is. Probably Punk or Bryan’s idea. I really hope Raw stays this way too. I don’t see Vince staying though.
wait im still confused so is laurinitis fired or no
Laurinaitis is not fired yet. If Big Show loses on Sunday, Laurinaitis gets fired. So Big Show will win.
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For the second week in a row, Raw is showing signs of improvement.
First, I will mention the moments that were really good. First, of course, it’s AJ’s character. First, she likes Bryan, then Punk, kisses ass by wearing his t-shirt, and then she makes out with Kane? Unbelieveable! This is shaping up to be one of the greatest “romantic” storylines ever. I also loved when Vader came out. If I were Slater, I would’ve run out of there as fast as I could. Vader may be old, but he showed that he still has what it takes to be a wrestler. Wow, I agree Mark. If they keep doing this, it will make the 1000’th episode hype way better. The Cena promos were funny too. I liked how he mentioned McMahon’s terrible Wrestlemania record, and the jokes about Snooki and McDonald’s. Great stuff by him last night. Also, the funky dance between the funkettes and McMahon was actually pretty funny, and I laughed most when Zack Ryder was shown.
Now, it’s time, it’s time, it’s time . . . . for the parts that need improving. Got ya, didn’t I? First, and most importantly, the WWE writers need to put The Miz and Zack Ryder on T.V. And also, did you know they suspended Randy Orton? What the hell? He’s money, and his fueds, although not needed, like the Kane one, did have exciting wrestling matches. Also, Ryback needs to actually have a match that doesn’t feature assholes trying to make a name for themselves. Bring in the artillery, because Ryback’s gonna take over the world of jobbers if he keeps doing these blink and you’ll miss it matches. Plus, even though the AJ storyline is doing great so far, they need to not make Kane and AJ make out! That put a tear in my eye. What, does she have cataracts or something, because even I don’t believe Kane has a damn heart. Seriously, if they try to make AJ the new Lita, I’ll be damned. Holy crap, that’s what they’re doing. Here’s a comparison of the romantic lives of Lita and AJ.
Lita first marries Kane, which AJ is portraying right now. Then, she’ll date Daniel Bryan again, cheat on Bryan with Punk who has taken over as the master of the mic (aka. Edge’s rated r thing) and then after Punk does something important, they’ll have that celebration I refuse to mention, which will ignite a fued where Punk spears someone through a flaming table!
Well, that’s all. One more thing actually. What’s with the segment of Vince and Bryan. That wasn’t nessecary at all!
I’ll take improvement! Everyone seems to love AJ and the angle. It is phenomenal. Vader was great to see because he’s rare. I think 100% of people would want them to hype the 1000th episode with a legend match each week. Like I said before, not a typical legend match either. No Sgt. Slaughter. I want Psycho Sid next. Cena was better than usual last week.
Yes to Miz on tv. Yes to Ryder on tv. Orton is on steroids so he deserves the suspension. I still like Ryback vs jobbers. It’s hilarious. I want to see him in real matches eventually, but for now I want jobbers. More jobbers. I’m not bored with it yet.
You hated AJ kissing Kane. That’s the idea. Nobody liked it. So it’s a success. AJ is much like Lita. But she has more charisma and a better character. She’s also better in the ring. AJ is a great wrestler.
Vince and Daniel Bryan together kinda pissed me off. What was the point? For Vince to shit on him? Why would Bryan have to talk himself up? He doesn’t need to. Terrible segment.
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Raw was good this week. I must disagree, I thought Tensai and Sheamus was a good match you were right about no psychology, but it was stiff as hell which was good enough for me. I agree everything Vince said was gold, but for me the promo of the night was Bryan and Punk before Kane came out. Seeing Vader was a nice treat although I had heard he lost a lot of weight I guess I was wrong. Seeing Vince interact with the Funkadactals was funny Zack Ryder was at least seen on Raw. AJ is a lunatic and I love it. Ryback stiff as hell and its funny how they were playing off the presidents as his opponents.
The end of the show was ok. Big Show is losing Sunday they say third time is the charm unless Big Johnny KO’s McMahon I say hes gone. I’m glad hes gone for real as the EVPTR.
The fatal four way match was good, but I wish Khali would have not been in it he is not safe. I hope he gets fired soon.
I guess Tensai vs Sheamus was okay. With no psychology, I don’t want to see it though. And that’s me being unbiased. Because I like Tensai. I would tell you if Bryan had a bad match…even though its physically impossible. Your right about Bryan and Punk’s promo. Best of the night. Vader did seem to lose a lot of weight. The last time he came out years ago with Goldust and Coachman, he fell over. Just fell over walking. Everyone is commenting on AJ and Ryback. They are working.
Nobody seems to like Laurinaitis. And no, that isn’t good heel heat. Nobody likes him period. Khali needs fired right now. #FireKhali
Everything after the first question mark is moot. Don’t go back out with an ex.
Good Raw overall. I hear Vince will bring back some hall of famers to the 1000th episode. I just hope it wouldn’t end up like that one smackdown episode where they only shows the hall of famers the whole time in and out of the ring, it completely ruined the show. I know the writers are focusing on 1000th episode and giving less attention to no way out but it looks like it will be worthwhile watching since the storyline angle has been so far so good. I am sure Ziggler vs Sheamus will be a great match for sure and my bet is that it will steal the show. Sheamus will be the winner. I actually prefer seeing Ziggler facing Sheamus more than Alberto. Also the fans seem to like Ziggler a lot, I can tell this because they really cheered the guy when he beat Chritian. I was sure Ziggler will win because there was no way there will be a face vs face match at the moment. Both Sheamus and Ziggler are great wrestlers. I am happy Ziggler is finally starting to get the push that he deserves. He is a future champion for sure. I love AJ’s involvement in the triple threat match, I am sure she will get into interference in some way but I do hope the match goes well and that we will have a good wrestling match. I really want Bryan to win this match. AJ should cost Punk the title. I am still not sure how Show and Cena match will end up, up till know it kind of looks like their match will end up like how Cena beat Lesnar at Extreme Rules. Show will be completely dominant at start but Cena will do his finisher at the end and pick up the victory. Show really does look like a replacement for Lesnar at the moment. I really hope Lesnar and Triple H come to agree to fight at Summerslam. I really have been waiting for that to happen for a long time. Where was The Miz tonight. At least give the guy a promo to do. Ryback really needs a storyline right now! Enough is enough with destroying jobbers. Feed the guy a descent opponent please creative writers… It was great seeing Vince back. I loved the pop the crowd gave him during his entrance. the crowd was really alive tonight! Real wrestling fans. I am glad I heard the ‘yes’ chants again. What’s the deal with Randy Orton at the moment? Is he definitely going to leave the WWE?
I see the 1000th episode having a ton of names. I can see it featuring Austin, The Rock, Foley, Bret Hart, Undertaker, Roddy Piper, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, JBL, Psycho Sid, and more. I’d rather see them focus on that show as opposed to a bad PPV that most won’t get. Plug the free show! I’m sure Sheamus will also win. It can’t steal the show when Bryan and Punk are in the same ring though. The people do like Ziggler though. A face vs face would have worked given the late circumstances. It’s better this way though.
Whoever AJ goes with will win the title. My official prediction will have to be Punk. I can see him retaining and taking AJ. People like AJ. They want her to be a face. I can see Big Show winning because I don’t see Laurinaitis being removed as GM. They think that his heat is good heat, which it isn’t. You will see Triple H vs Lesnar at Summerslam, don’t worry. That begins Sunday.
Miz is a jobber. Never surprised to not see him anymore. I want Ryback vs jobbers! I still like it. There will be a point where I want him in real matches, but not yet! Vince was great and so was the crowd. Orton has been suspended for steroids for the 2nd time. You won’t see him for awhile.
Wrong about the Orton Suspension. He was suspended for smoking spice, a synthetic Marjiuana. Dont understand why people working for the WWE are doing it since smoking real marjiuana is only a $2500 fine and is a lot safer than the synthetic, which is a 60day suspension and carries very serious health risks.
First and foremost, let me say this Raw kicked ass. Soooooo much better than the previous month or so. I was entertained for just about the whole thing. Vince was priceless as he always is. I wish he could be a weekly character again. Him throwing Ace’s scooter off the stage was great. I thought it was kinda cool the Ace mentioned that Vince had his head up Big Show’s butt in that one Hell in a Cell match. I liked the whole nostalgia feel of the whole show. It was great. The Sheamus/Tensai match was ok. It wasnt a great match in terms of technical wrasslin, but I was entertained. Maybe thats because I was on such a high from the McMahon segment. I dunno. I did think the Santino/Ricardo segment was hilarious. Ricardo running into the pole made me legit crack up, as did him wearing a Justin Bieber shirt. Even my dad laughed, and he hates every Santino segment. Im happy to see Ziggler get a title match. That match could be a show stealer at No Way Out. I adore Ziggler. He wont win, but Im hoping he gets some sort of push. Doubtful though. An inevitable feud with Swagger and his ridiculous haircut awaits him.
My favorite segment was the Bryan/Punk/Kane/AJ segment. Three out those 4 are my favorite characters in the business right now. The goat face line was great, as was having the crowd chant it. Great crowds always make Raw seem better, no matter what. AJ Lee is awesome. She plays her character so well. The looks on the faces of Punk, Bryan, and Kane after that match were priceless. Im in love with AJ. Just sayin. I, too dig crazy chicks. Im guessing she sides with Bryan at No Way Out. There’s no way Punk is leaving Sunday night still champion, in my opinion.
They really should have Ryback vs Stansky/Rosenberg every week for the time being. Hire those two men, please. I think it would be hilarious to have those two cut the same “Two is greater than one” promo every week only to get the crap knocked out of them time and time again. Favorite backstage segment was the Vince/William Regal/Kiss My Ass Club bit. I miss William Regal. He was one of my favorites.
The Big Show steel cage match was a waste of time. Boooooring. Just like last week, I still dont give a darn about Sin Cara. Too repetitive from week to week. The coolest thing all night was Vader’s return. The crowd ate that up. I loved it. Stupid Heath Slater. How about a Slater vs. Sin Cara vs. Great Khali in a Triple Threat “I dont give a damn” match.
I saw the Big Show interference coming at the end from a mile away. I knew there was no way Ace was getting fired. That was kind of a letdown because it was too predictable. But I did think Show’s promo was pretty darn good, for a change. Theres no way Ace gets fired. Theres just no way. I will be shocked if he does.
I’m sorry to make this so short, but I agree with everything your saying lol. I can’t really add much more. I still pick Punk to win Sunday. I think they want AJ to stay face. Plus Punk has to unveil the new WWE Championship belt soon. Punk/Bryan/Kane/AJ is amazing. Santino/Ricardo was very funny. Stansky/Rosenberg are the best tag team ever. They really do need to be hired. Regal is also one of my favorite in ring wrestlers ever. I want to see him wrestle Daniel Bryan every Monday night. Vader was cool, and Sin Cara is repetitive. I do kinda like Slater though. He’s been impressive. Great charisma. Good heel. Everything involving Big Show has been bad.
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Wow. What can I say. Okay so I haven’t actually watched the show yet, but boy does it sound good!
AJ is really putting some excitement into this feud, I really like her and I actually hope she and Punk start dating! But its true, she is crazy. What up with her making out with Kane? Yeah, sure, she’s one of my favourite Divas, but she is nothing to Lita, Lita’s the best, and she’s my favourite!!!!!
I agree with you saying everything Vince spoke was gold, cos it was!!!!!! He really made the show funny, it was great for him to come back!
And this Randy Orton business??? REALLY??? Omg I love Randy Orton, they should not be doing this! Orton is a fan favourite, if he leaves the WWE, it will lose views I’m sure.
Oh and I know its not from this week’s Raw, but the Bella’s being fired? Wow. Wow, wow, wow. I’ll miss them!!!!!! :'(
Overall, it sounds like a great Raw, I can’t wait to watch it!!
This was one worth watching! AJ was the highlight of the show. I like her more than Lita personally! WWE didn’t do anything to Orton though. He failed a drug test. That’s on him. Everyone gets the same treatment, so I’m okay with his suspension. The Bella’s are long gone. They decided to go elsewhere in the entertainment world. I don’t recognize your name as a weekly commenter, so come back next week and comment!!
sorry sir, I love AJ, but she IS NOT better in the ring than Lita, more polished YES but overall and just having an “it” factor HELL NAW lol (well at least not yet) It was cool to see Vader, and I hear his match drew over 320,000 more viewers in the ratings.
Im the biggest Kane/Aj fan girl alive and I nearly died with happiness. I hope they continue this angle!
Hey gang, who do you think is worse: The person in your fantasy league who never sets their lineup after week 1, or the one who trades with this person, taking their best player for scrubs in return? Which one do you think Mark Brown is???
By the way, wrestling is fake.
The wrong one-legged wrestler comment was a shot at Steve Chamberlain who was a one-legged guy trained by Steve Keirn in Tampa. He was signed by WWE accidently when they meant to sign Zack Gowan from TNA. They realized the mistake the next day and Zack Gowan was signed and Chamberlain’s contract was null and void.
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aj is crazy.
and
big show loser in “NO WAY OUT”
big show loser in “no way out”
he is cant see me
I am a fan of Goldberg too!! Mcmahon back?? It would be too much of drama, great fun to watch out. Awesome crowd!! Please let the comments keep coming!!