Friday, April 20, 2012

WWE Monday Night Raw Review: 4/16/2012



This has just not been John Cena's month....





Match 1:: No DQ, No Countout WWE Championship match: CM Punk(c) vs. Mark Henry


I thought kicking things off with a WWE Championship match was a great way to go.  The UK fans showered Punk with support and deservedly so.  Punk has been the best champion the company has seen in nearly a decade.  A couple weeks ago these two had a terrific match on Raw and this week was no different.  The chemistry they have together is still a bit surprising, given the fact that they even managed to have a completely different match this time around and still found a way to tear down the house.  A lot of brilliant psychology by Punk in this match and Henry looked like a monster that just wouldn't die.  Neither man looked bad as a result and only good can come out of the work they put in here.  Awesome match!


Match Rating: ****1/2


The post match promo by Chris Jericho was more of the same awesome material he has been coming with lately.  I thought the footage of Punk coming out of the Pub, was a great turn of events and I don't think this feud needs much more than the work they put in this week.  I'm sold, and I look forward to seeing where things will go at Extreme Rules.



The potential Feud of the Year will come to a head in a Chicago Street Fight



As soon as they started promoting the "controversial" Brock Lesnar interview, I knew we were going to witness something special tonight.



and no, this wasn't it....




Match 2: United States Champion Santino Marella vs. David Otunga


Funny bit at the beginning with Santino being 'the man of a 1000 jerseys', but I'm done watching him wrestle David OIL-Tunga.  I'm pretty much done watching Otunga wrestle all together at this point.  I'm not against him perfecting his craft, the guy has a ton of charisma and potential in spades, but right now, he just doesn't make the cut.  Another boring match that was the down segment to what I thought was a pretty entertaining show so far.


Match Rating: *1/2



The sit down interview with Brock Lesnar could not have been more awesome!  I thought it was the best way to use him, having him cut a UFC style promo on John Cena and shoot a bit on Cena's status with the company.  He came off looking like a total badass.  So much so that it worries me.  People may only cheer him louder, instead of getting the wanted reaction of being booed out of the building.  Bloodthirsty fans in cities like Chicago, want this kind of attitude and they're going to eat Cena alive come next Sunday.  Still, I've got to play Devil's advocate a bit and give Cena a little credit.  He may not have been the top guy had Lesnar not left, but he still would have become one of the top two or three.  The real question is, what era would we have been living in all this time?  I certainly could not have imagined a guy like Brock in the PG-oriented WWE.  However, all this doesn't even matter now.  It's Cena vs. Lesnar at Extreme Rules in what appears to be a fight to the death, and this promo left me wondering how John Cena plans on surviving, let alone winning come April 29th.  Great segment that left my mouth watering and if you have yet to see it, shame on you.  Thankfully, the good ol' folks over at YouTube, have provided the clip for us in it's entirety.






Dave Batista, O' Where Art Thou?



Match 3: Zack Ryder vs. Kane


This match was meant for Zack Ryder to get his revenge on Kane for everything he's done to him in the beginning of 2012.....yeah.  Kane destroys Ryder so quickly and all of a sudden, I'm finding myself loving Kane again.  The bad part was that no match actually even begins here, and instead we are left with a generic Kane promo.......Yeah.  My admiration for Kane kinda just went back to zero.  Kane and Orton have some good matches, but they are both falling into mediocrity fast.  Randy especially.  He has become a major afterthought, but with the return of Lesnar, a lot of guys have. 


Match Rating: N/A



The backstage bit between Kofi, AJ and Daniel Bryan was a funny set up to their match tonight.  I'm all for the Lebell Lock being changed to the YES Lock, but hopefully we don't have a year of "Yes!" chants ahead of us.  Can we just get back to chanting it for Bryan only?  Hearing it throughout the entire show is just plain annoying.


John Cena's promo was just OK.  I did get a kick out of the fact that for the first time in his career, Cena seems genuinely afraid.  I don't blame you John.  Shane Carwin wasn't afraid of Lesnar.  Randy Couture wasn't afraid of Lesnar.  Frank Mir DAMN sure wasn't afraid of Lesnar, and look where it got them.  The good news is, fear can fuel you, and hopefully it does.  You're going to need everything you can muster up to get through this one.



Match 4: Kofi Kingston vs. Daniel Bryan


With these two names on the marquee, should we expect anything less than a good match?  That being said, I got what I expected here, but nothing more.  The match wasn't bad by any means....but it sort of just was....there.  Daniel Bryan better win his world title back next Sunday or he may become another superstar on the afterthought list.  I really think he deserves it, considering the only thing noteworthy he's really done since Mania, is change the name of his finish.  Hell, what do I know?  They'll probably just have Sheamus Brogue Kick him twice and retain, just to piss us all off and let us know that they could really give a shit what we think.


Match Rating: **



Match 5: Brodus Clay vs. Dolph Ziggler


Speaking of an afterthought, I almost forgot Dolph Ziggler even existed until this match.  At least they didn't use him as Funkasaurus food here.  Another match that got turned into a trash segment. 


Match Rating: N/A



What a great segue into Chief Jay Strongbow's videos tribute this was...



"hey Eve, you into double penetration?"



....for all you morons out there....that was sarcasm...it was a terrible lead in. 




RIP Chief Jay Strongbow (1928-2012). A true WWE legend.


Match 5: WWE Tag Team Champions Primo & Epico w/Rosa Mendes vs. Intercontinental Champion Big Show and The Great Khali


Why....WHY!?  I'm seriously at a loss for words here....the Tag champs again find themselves jobbing out to a team with no momentum at all.  Sigh...


Match Rating: DUD



If it helps, I have this screencap of Rosa Mendes...



works for me....



Match 6:: Extrem Rules match: John Cena vs. Lord Tensai


As you all know by now, no real good came out of this match.  It was a good match, don't get me wrong, but John Cena needed a big win here and instead, Tensai picked up the win of his career thus far.  It's done wonders to get his character over, but Cena has been shit on in so many ways since Wrestlemania, it's scary.  I'm beginning to wonder if he's going to finally lose it and turn heel--


.....yeah...I think we should all just put that whole thing to bed.  I don't think I've ever seen a better example of a "company man", than John Cena.  The guy just never seems to complain.  Makes you me feel sorry for the guy.  The fans hate him, Lesnar hates him, and now it seems as if management may be a bit tired of him as well.  Dark days are ahead Cena fans....beware.


Match Rating: ***


It's in this moment, that Cena decides to re-evaluate his career






Overall episode rating: 7.0 (Meh)


What to watch if you DVR'd the episode: As far as wrestling goes the Punk/Henry match was the best of the night.  The Brock Lesnar promo was can't miss as well, but if you're reading this, then you've already seen it.

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