Raw is Post-Wrestlemania 4-2-2012

The night after Wrestlemania. The debut of Mankind, Brock Lesnar. The season premiere that will begin the story that will climax at Wrestlemania 29. It begins tonight.

Johnny Ace begins begins with a new era. He sets up a match for Santino vs. Ziggler vs. Swagger. Punk smarts off to him and heckles Ace. Ace puts him in a match against Mark Henry. The new theme in his era is Power People.

Rock came out. The crowd was electric chanting "Boots to Asses" & "You still have it." Rock came out and did his thing. It was everything it needed to be.

The first match was Ziggler vs. Swagger vs. Santino. This match was just kind of there for me. But Santino beat both. As Swagger and Ziggler beat on Santino after the match, Santino ran up the ramp and was saved by Brodus Clay. Ziggler charged Brodus Clay and took a crazy bump on the ramp. Ziggler is the most underrated wrestler in the business.

We had the debut of Lord Tensai. The crowd chanted A-Train at the top of their lungs. I was hoping they would chant "Hip Hop Hippo." Alex Riley began his Future Endeavored Tour. I liked the debut of the Tensai character. And of course, Larry Stanley died when he saw "The Claw." It reminded me of a early 90's monster. Let's see where they go with him.

So Punk-Henry was not the same match he had with Daniel Bryan. It was as good a match as Mark Henry is capable of having. This was such a good match. Both guys really brought it. It ended in a countout. I love the booking as this sets up Mark Henry as credible again. Jericho comes out of the crowd and says that after that beating, he and Punk need a drink. What happened to them has to be seen to be believed.

Sheamus came out to celebrate and then Alberto del Rio's music hit. Ricardo Rodriguez started up and the crowd went nuts. For Daniel Bryan. Sheamus and Alberto del Rio delivered their lines and went through their motions all the while ignoring that the crowd was cheering someone else. Rock, Austin, Foley, Flair, Piper, those men would have never let a crowd get away with that.

We came back to get Cody vs. Kofi. Big Show came out to show Cody losing. I thought the story they told was very entertaining. Kofi got a nice win.

Abraham Washington gave Mark Henry his card. I'm not sure it was him or Teddy Long in a timewarp.

Eve cut a promo that was not horrible.

The main event was Miz vs. Ryder.

John Cena came out cut a promo on The Rock. The crowd was chanting for Lesnar at the top of their lungs. And then they got him. F5 on John Cena.

I have been watching Raw for the past year pretty much consecutively. This has been the best Raw in ages. 90% of that was the crowd. But the work was great. Lesnar coming back was perhaps one of the most electric things I've ever seen.

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Raw is Pre Wrestlemania-3-26-12

There are fewer bigger nights than this. Wrestlemania is the event that all events are measured by. This is the WWE's second-to-last chance to get us to want to buy Wrestlemania.

We begin with a tag match, Orton/Sheamus vs. Bryan/Kane. This match (shoot, this whole Raw) had one purpose-to get us to buy Wrestlemania. I like that they kept opponents separate. Heel Daniel Bryan was pretty impressive for me. I also like his commitment. There is no hesitation from him. The crowd seemed to be really hot and into a lot of the match. Commentary was also very strong. AJ got involved in the match and Bryan/Kane won. What a great first match.

They did a really fun segment/match with Johnny Ace coming out first. Then he introduced his flag-bearer Vickie Guerrero and his team captain David Otunga. Booker T introduced Teddy Long's flag-bearer Hornswoggle and team captain Santino Marella. As with all good David Otunga matches, it was short. As the match ended Miz did the beatdown and was announced as a member of Team Johnny.

Eve killed Kelly Kelly. In other news, Beth Phoenix looked really hot in that dress. I was wrong. Kelly Kelly is now Super Cena with breasts.

Christian walks out solidifying that he and Jack Swagger have a bad haircut contest. Then out comes Punk to reveal Jericho on the screen. He revealed that Punk was illegitimate. Then Christian attacked him which sent my wife into a tirade about his hair. My wife even liked the match enough to tell me. What a beatdown. Punk has snapped!

Ah, yes. Nothing says focused for Wrestlemania quite like Brodus Clay. Curt Hawkins is on his way to your local Lions Club to put over Johnny Attitude. In his defense, Hawkins sold well.

Big Show killed Primo. Remember when tag team champs weren't jobbers? Cody Rhodes cut a really good promo.

The Bellas demolish dialogue. So Zack Ryder's gimmick is that he says stupid things to women. At least they had a focus for Wrestlemania.

Great Khali fought Mark Henry in a match no one wanted to see. It was short and very painless. They had a face off and Booker T came to Teddy's rescue. So Booker gets his Wrestlemania payday.

Rock and Cena had their final stand-off. Rock sounded like he needed to work on his material in front of a live crowd. His monologue was awful. Then he was met by Cena. Rock has always put over talent. Shoot, he lost to Hurricane once. Now he has put Cena over verbally.

It ended up being a really good Raw. They were focused and everything (except for Clay) seemed to be building towards a Wrestlemania. I'm ready for Wrestlemania. Bring it on.

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Raw is Personal 3-19-12

Well, I'd like to write some introduction but for some reason I got home late and it just didn't quite happen. So I will get right in to Raw.

CM Punk opened it up talking about his dad being an alcoholic and how his dad had worked really hard to overcome and recover. Chris Jericho appeared on the screen and apologized for bringing up Punk's father. Now his sister on the other hand... Punk fed off him and they had a really strong build-up.

Big Show and Kane had a match or something. It was a back drop for Cody Rhodes to build up his and Big Show's match. As the ambush happened, Cody handcuffed Big Show and went after him. Really strong build-up.

They continued the build-up of Teddy Long-Johnny Ace by David Otunga facing Santino Marella. They started with a posedown. I gotta admit I popped for the Santino posedown.

Rock talked a long time.

Daniel Bryan squashed Zack Ryder.

John Cena took quite the beating at the hands of Mark Henry.  But he won and The Rock did his move on Henry.

Miz cuts a great promo. He puts out an open challenge and gets Sheamus. I really like how they are pointing out the way they're not putting over Miz' lack of Wrestlemania match.

I still think that Randy Orton and Kane seem last-minute, but I like that they're giving it meaning.

We go from anti-bullying to Vickie Guerrero getting booed out of the building for having an annoying voice.

We get Swagger and Ziggler vs. Truth & Kofi. It was pretty good build-up. Though I believe all 4 of those should have singles runs, I'm happy they have spots and places. Though I hate Swagger's character, the guy is a natural athlete and would kill in a world like Ring of Honor or Japan.

Then we had the 3-way confrontation. Shawn Michaels was the first. Then out came the Undertaker. Then out came HHH. They had a nice exchange, but it just wasn't quite there.

Tonight's Raw was pretty decent. You had a lot of really good buildup and it made me want to see Wrestlemania a bit more.

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Raw is Tired and Cranky 3-12-12

Raw may not be tired and cranky, but I sure am. Time changes, days at work and being accused (wrongly) of stealing by one of my heroes.

A lot of the AIW people I follow on Twitter are saying that Cleveland is a packed house.

John Cena opens up in a Mark Price jersey channeling old John Cena that we fell in love with.

Vickie took the mic and cut a great promo. But then again, I've never heard a bad Vickie Guerrero promo. Sheamus took on Dolph Ziggler. I've used the Mr. Perfect comparison before for Ziggler and I stand by it. It was a long good match.

I am going to rip the WWE in a future blog several new ones for the abusive storyline. It has no place in wrestling.

Johnny Ace is doing commentary. It was going to be Santino vs. David Otunga. Then it became Mark Henry. Now we have a squash of the US Champ.

WWE got publicity. And Eve has large fake breasts. And Zack Ryder is more stupid than anyone I've ever met. Beth Phoenix wants to attack Maria M. on Extra. I'm too lazy to google her name to get it right. Miz is on Psych. James Roday is on Raw. Is Psych that much in the toilet?

We get the return of Brodus Clay. This is the greatest Jinder Mahal match I've ever seen. Even WCW's The Gambler got in more offense.

HBK comes out to talk to Undertaker. Undertaker takes longer to walk to the ring than Jinder Mahal's match. They had a really nice exchange, but neither really said anything.

James Roday made an ass out of himself, but he looked like he was living a life-long dream. Punk and Miz fought a pretty decent match. Then Chris Jericho took the mic and proved why he's Chris Mother-effin' Jericho.

Do you remember that Seinfeld episode when Jerry couldn't quit going to his current barber and had a little boy's hair cut? That's what Jack Swagger looks like. However, he and Orton had a pretty good match.

Then Rock sang. He looks like he enjoys himself out there. And you had to love the Vanilla Ice + Teletubbies reference. Honestly this was one of the most entertaining things I've ever seen on wrestling tv in a long time.

All in all, a good Raw. I would say most things should be watched.

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Raw is HD 3-5-12

Yes, we have finally made it to the 21st century with an HD DirecTV receiver. I have no doubt my world will be forever changed, at least wrestling wise.

We open up the night with Shawn Michaels. I'm torn on this one. I don't mind Shawn on my tv, but on the other hand, can we let the guy retire? The crowd responded well to him and made him seem important. He asks for Triple H to come to the ring. Shawn went for way too long. What Triple H has perfected very well over the past few years is the art of the focused glare. He does that glare better than most guys cut promos.  Then HBK let everybody know he was going to be the guest referee. Here's to a 5-minute entrance at Wrestlemania.

Santino was supposed to fight Jack Swagger. Swagger looked like a 9-year-old who needs a haircut. This wasn't a match so much as a backdrop for the Teddy Long-Johnny Ace feud. However, Santino pinned Jack Swagger and won the belt. Best I can figure out, Swagger has failed a wellness test. Then Teddy Long had security escort Johnny Ace and his crew out. I believe this is like Vic Mackey suspending Det. McNulty on The Wire. (If you got that reference, you are my favorite person.)

Rock talked a lot. My wife was happy. Kelly Kelly was nominated for Best Butt-Kicker. And? Eve beat Alicia Fox.

Eve then tried to kiss Zack Ryder. They are booking Zack Ryder to look stupider than 1990 Sting.

John Cena did a very solid promo, but it just went too long and sounded way too scripted.

CM Punk & Sheamus took on Jericho & Bryan. The match was really good. I don't like the fact the main events laid hands on each other before Wrestlemania. But let's be honest. Punk and Jericho aren't going to have the same exact match at Wrestlemania. I liked the finish and the match had nice build-up.

Rock rambled about Paul Revere.

Miz was supposed to fight Big Show. I really like how Big Show has evolved as a worker since his days of The Giant in WCW. Cody Rhodes showed footage of WM 18. #$^%@$#$@ That was the last WWE PPV I ever bought.

Rock rambled more.

R-Truth came out while talking to Little Jimmy. Kane came out and killed him. I guess Randy Orton is going to fight Kane at Wrestlemania.

John Cena came out and cut another scripted promo. And then Rock came out. The two had a very nice interaction.

So this ended up being a decent Raw. I liked the Punk-Sheamus/Bryan-Jericho segment match and the Cena-Rock stuff was good. If you watched it, you don't feel your time was wasted. If you don't, you probably didn't miss anything.

Raw is Back 2-20-12

There are so many things I can talk about. I just wanted to take a few moments to discuss a few things. First of all, one of Texas' finest indy talents was in a horrible wreck and is now going through some major surgeries. Please take a moment to wish him well as he goes through this time. His Twitter can be found here.

Also, I had the opportunity to see a really awesome match between "Headbanger" Gregory James and "The Chosen One" Barrett Brown. I decided to share that match here. If you do not, go find a local indy wrestling company and support them. This was the best I had seen either do (that didn't involve a ladder).

We open up with the Bellas defending Zack Ryder to Eve. Then Raw officially opens to the entrance of the Confederate Warrior. Then he trashes Eve. Eve is on her knees crying. I deplored this whole segment. Thanks for reminding me that all women are sexually depraved.

The first match was Sheamus vs. Mark Henry. It was a nice match to start everything. It was a nice build towards Wrestlemania.

Are Johnny Ace and Teddy Long going to feud? Can I pay NOT to see that?

R-Truth is coming to the ring. Following him is Kofi. They are facing The Colons. The Colons got NO crowd reaction. The match was really good. Kofi pinned a Colon. Now Kofi & Truth are a tag team?

David Otunga gets Ezekiel Jackson which I guess means we all lose. Otunga wins. Zeke, rent, don't buy.

Undertaker comes out bald on-screen for the first time since before 1990. He and HHH have a really good exchange. There just isn't a single person who wants this match other than Mark & Paul. They agree to the match. It's going to be Hell in a Cell.

Daniel Bryan squashed Santino. Way to capitalize on your momentum, WWE.

Aksana and Kelly Kelly got the Bella Twins. The Bellas won. Sigh.

John Cena had a really good honest promo.

The Battle Royal was something that legends are made of. This was really good. But it was so brutal. At least 2 wrestlers were legit injured. And Jericho won and the build-up began.

I LOVED the Battle Royal, Cena's promo & the Taker-HHH. The Eve stuff was awful and the rest was just there. I'll call it decent.

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Raw Is Hopefully Good 2-6-11

My wrestling world is going great. Raw has been good for 3 weeks in a row. I'm going to MPX live with my mother or wife, whoever wins. AIW is having a 4-way of Facade, ACH, Rickey Shane Page and Uhaa Nation AND Tim Donst vs. BJ Whitmer at Gauntlet for the Gold 7. Chikara is also starting to get their year going. I just discovered a site where I can get really cheap Japanese DVD's. And Gregory Iron announced he was going to be part of the Super 8 tournament. I am in pro wrestling nirvana.

Triple H begins the night be flashing back to 2002 where every Raw began with him in the ring wearing a suit. HHH really needs to stop channeling The Rock or Vince. He cannot hold a crowd the way they can. He cuts a certain type of promo really well. This wasn't it. It was a pretty boring, way-too-long promo. Then he was interrupted by a really good Undertaker vignette.

Big Show nearly sprinted out to the ring. Daniel Bryan brought out AJ, (Thank you.) who looks breath-takingly beautiful in a neck brace. Big Show and Daniel Bryan had a really good match. Then Big Show was going to hit AJ inadvertently and stopped just in time. Then Daniel Bryan took the mic and said Big Show was a horrible person. I really liked Daniel's psycho persona.

John Cena meets Carl Edwards. I could care less about NASCAR. This isn't helping me not boo Cena.

David Otunga still exists. He decides to pray for Johnny Ace's return. So does Mrs. Ace. He Tebows. I kid you not. He Tebowed. Then Justin Roberts announces Otunga has a match. And his opponent is my pasty hero Sheamus. Sheamus made his chest redder than Otunga did. The highlight of the match was my wife pointing out Little Naitch Charles Robinson.

Chris Jericho takes a mic. Nothing more need be said. Punk came out and said nothing, just held the belt. Perfect.

Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes. My wife laughed at how much better-looking Cody Rhodes is than the rest of his family and said Barrett needs to pin his ears back. Those two faced Great Khali & Randy Orton. The match was very predictable. Whatever.

We get to watch this Cena s*** again? What better way to show the people how much we shouldn't boo him than show Jared from Subway?

Beth Phoenix is devious. That's what I learned from the 1-minute Divas match.

Then they showed THE SAME VIDEO PACKAGE from earlier with the Undertaker.

The 6-pack challenge was good.

This was a pretty mediocre Raw. Show-Bryan and 6 Pack were good. I also loved the first faceoff between Jericho and Punk. The rest was just fast-forward worthy.