WWE Raw Review - 1st December 2008

Recently Raw has been consistently good but not excellent. Now that all the big hitters like Cena, Orton, Batista, HBK, Jericho and JBL are all fit it will be interesting to see if the show quality improves with it as normally the more main event stars you have the better the show is.

Good Points

John Cena against the world

Chris Jericho did a great job on the show tonight. He started off with a great n ring promo which was set up reminiscent of Cena’s last week with Jericho walking through the crowd. Then then antagonist Chris Jericho managed to get under Orton’s skin telling him how Cena always upstaged him and managed to get hi on his side against a common enemy. The show ended with Jericho, Orton and Second generation stars laying the beat on Cena which was a good finish.

Stephanie takes control

No Shane tonight as Steph laid down her authority in control with some good backstage stuff and some good mic work which included a great line about Adamle. She also announced a huge three hour special of Raw next week which will see the return of the Slammys and some big cross brand matches.

Santino Marella

Again Santino provided us with some great slapstick comedy on Raw as he tried to emulate Melina’s ring entrance. This segment was also used to push a Melina / Beth Phoenix feud which should be interesting.

Bad Points

JBL / HBK deal storyline

The storyline idea between these two does not play out well on a wrestling show. Supposedly JBL has offered HBK a private deal that the fans don’t know about and JBL is waiting for HBK’s response. This storyline may have played out in a soap but in wrestling it ended up in a mess which saw HBK walking out of the ring to a chorus of boos.

Dolph Ziggler

After many weeks of backstage segments featuring Dolph he was thrown in the deep end with Batista. Dolph a) shouldn’t have been put in a match against a main event star right away and b) shouldn’t be in there with Batistaa who couldn’t help anyone have a good match and would just be interested in squashing him. I think a feud between Dolph and Santino would have been the best way to start.

Overall

A good show with lots going on. It’s still a case of the main storyline being executed well but the rest of the show flagging behind some what. WWE creative need to invest more time in the under card feuds.

WWE Raw Review - 27th October 2008

After a lacklustre Raw last week and a lacklustre Cyber Sunday I was hoping that tonight’s Raw the start of the road to Survivor Series would be the start of an upturn for the WWE.

Good Points

Adamle / Orton Feud

With Orton still not ready to compete yet they have built him a great storyline with Mike Adamle. Orton blames Adamle for getting him stunnered by Steve Austin at Cyber Sunday and has called for Shane and Stephanie McMahon to come to Raw next week to fire him or he will walk. Orton’s mic work was some of the most intense on Raw in recent weeks and I think has put everyone on notice for his upcoming in ring return.

A Great wrestling match

It was so good to see Rey Mysterio against Evan Bourne on Raw, with a couple of more good cruiserweights they could build a division to Rival WCW’s in the late 90s. Hopefully these two will get to go at it again soon.

Santino take another beating

Santino again provided the comedy for the evening continuing on his programme with the WWE legends from last night’s Cyber Sunday. As the legends came out to commentate on his match he threw some good lines at them on the mic and then once again took a beating at their hands but again it was great character development for Santino.

Bad Points

Not buying Batista as champ

I thought tonight proved why they should have kept the belt on Jericho as after Jericho delivered a solid in ring promo it was then left to Batista later on in the show to deliver a weak promo that lacked any kind of intensity. I’m already looking forward to Batista dropping the belt.

More change for change sake

After last night’s title change tonight we had the makeshift partnership of CM Punk and Kofi Kingston winning the tag belts from DiBiase and Rhodes. I thought the WWE were trying to build the second generation stable but this did nothing to help. I think it’s was done because they wanted to give a title to CM Punk and this was hat would have probably happened if CM Punk and Kofu had been voted in to the tag match at Cyber Sunday.

Overall

A big improvement lots going on and the show got back to feeling like an action packed two hours.

WWE Raw Review - 20th October 2008

With one week left to go to Cyber Sunday it was time for the Raw brand to put the final parts in the storylines together for their matches at the PPV.

Good Points

Nice build for Main Event

The creative team did a good job of building Jericho vs. Batista with both getting mic time in the ring and then both of them participating in the evenings main event. Mike Adamle put them both in gauntlet matches which gave the fans a chance to see and predict who they thought would come out on top this Sunday. If you are judging by what happened on Raw you would have to make Batista the favourite this Sunday.

Great Santino Segment

Santino came to the ring to deliver a promo dressed as a mixture of all three of his possible opponents this Sunday at Cyber Sunday. I enjoy Santino’s comedic work so he had me in stitches and although I am no Jim Duggan fan it was good to have him involved in the segment.

Bad Points

The return of Snitsky

Just when you think the WWE have gotten rid of Snitsky as you haven’t seen him for ages he comes back only to be used to lose in a throwaway match. This week it was a loss to Rey Mysterio. So I except to be writing the same sort of comment in a couple of months time.

Cryme Time / 2nd Generation feud

I like this feud but what they did for it on Raw was shocking. Their match was thrown out before it even started as Manu got involved in a three on two beat down which last a couple of minutes and then that was it. Didn’t do anything to inspire or get me interested.

Overall

Not the most exciting Raw ever and really missed Randy Orton and Michaels who I thought would put in an appearance as they are involved in the voting for the main event at Cyber Sunday. Maybe this all a ploy by WWE to make their shows boring so that people crave John Cena’s return more.

WWE Raw Review - 18th August 2008

After an average SummerSlam I was still looking forward to Raw as coming out of the PPV there seemed to be some interesting directions they could take the storylines in the run up to Unforgiven.

Good Points

Build for Jericho

After not having much of a push since his return finally Jericho is getting pushed back to the top in his feud with Shawn Michaels. Jericho gave a great promo in the ring to start the show off where he blamed Michaels and the fans for him hitting Michaels wife. He also ended the show with a non tile victory over Cm Punk so is being pushed as the main draw.

New concept for title match at Unforgiven

The theme for Adamle’s tenure as GM on Raw has been coming up with new and different concepts for matches. This time in a TNA style idea they are having a scramble match for the title between five competitors which will have a twenty minute time limit with the last competitor to get a submission or pinfall victory being declared the champion. Although I’m not sure about the quality of the match it will be a way of getting the belt off Punk which doesn’t harm him.

Santino stealing the show

Santino marella along with Beth Phoenix are stealing the show in the undercard right now. Who cares that Santino can’t wrestle as his character skills and mic skills put even the main eventers to shame. If only he was a bigger guy who could wrestle, if he was he would be the new Rock which the WWE really needs.

Bad Points

Killing CM Punk

CM Punk’s credibility was killed on Raw as in his hometown he lost a non tile main event to Jericho who isn’t even a challenger for the title. I think now the sooner they got the belt off him the better as he will never be allowed to go over big on anyone and it is doing him no favours to continue to be the champion the way he is being booked.

Main event stars put in throwaway matches

The guys who main evented SummerSlam were all put in terrible matches as JBL beat Jamie Noble, John Cena beat DiBiase and Holly. Then to add to this Batista was allowed to run over Burchill. It’s great to see Burchill being booked against the main event stars but he shouldn’t just be used for this.

Kane off the backburner

After having nothing to do at SummerSlam they are pushing Kane again by putting him in the main event at Unforgiven, giving him promo time on Raw and then having him chokeslam Batista. They should have continued Batista’s heel push and have him as champion not have him feuding with a heel who is probably not going to be given the title.

Overall

If it wasn’t for Jericho and Santino the show would have sucked. When the two guys you tune in for aren’t the main eventers in the championship scene you know there’s a problem.

WWE Raw Review - 11th August 2008

With this being the last Raw before SummerSlam I wa hoping the creative team were going to do something to get me interested in the Raw side of the card.

Good points

Nice build for CM Punk vs. JBL

These two should have been giver a larger chunk of the show but they did well with what they had. With JBL you are almost guaranteed a great build up if he is allowed to play his bully character. It was nice how they wove CM Punk’s straightedge character in t it with the liquior challenge and CM Punk throwing it back in JBL’s face.

Good build for Kofi/Mickie vs Santino/Beth

I’m really looking forward to this match. The concept is great they have Santino who is great on the mic and some guys who can really work. They promoted well on Raw with Santino challenging Mickie James to a atch winning it and then celebrating like he had won Gold at the Olympics.

Another solid outing for William Regal

Before his last suspension Regal wasn’t given much inring time but since his return he has been my winner of match of the night on all the Raw’s he has wrestled on. I just hope they get give him more mic time again soon as to build himself properly he needs both in ring time and mic time.

Bad Points

Kane’s bag containing Rey’s mask

In a terribly executed swerve we finally found out what Kane had been hiding in his bag which turned out to be Rey’s mask. With rumours that he may be departing soon I’m not surprised if WWE may want to kill his character off. The problem with this was its execution. A great swerve is one that you didn’t see coming but when you look back on it makes logical sense which this one didn’t. It just again smacked of last minute thinking by the creative team.

Poor build for Cena vs Batista

This match has been so poorly handled it’s untrue. This match should have been saved for Wrestlemania or if they were going to do it have it be for a heavyweight title and have a brilliant storyline to go with it. Try as they might this week on Raw they didn’t generate any interest to me as they both gave weak in ring promos to a mixed crowd response and went off air having lost the tag titles.

Lack of substance

For a Raw before one of the four biggest PPV’s of the year there wasn’t enough substance for me, not enough meaningful matches and not enough storyline development. With time given to Kelly Kelly, The Highlanders, Cryme Time, Jamie Noble, William Regal and Rhodes & DiBiase it broke up the hype for SummerSlam as they are not on the cardas and more time should have been given to the eight Raw stars that are on the card for SummerSlam.

Overall

A pretty boring episode of Raw which didn’t feature enough good non-wrestling segments. The only match on the Raw side I am really looking forward to is the mixed tag and that’s saying something.

WWE Raw Review - 14th April 2008

Raw came to my home country of jolly old England this week. I always enjoy the Raw shows the WWE produce from countries outside the USA as for me it always seems to add to the excitement of the show. I was hoping that the creative team could use this platform to bounce back from last week’s disappointment.

Good Points

Unpredictability is back

In one of the most unpredictable moments in Raw for some weeks Mickie James won the Women’s championship beating Beth Phoenix in the centre of the ring. Now most people probably used this match as a time for a beer run or to go to the toilet so will be kicking themselves that they missed it. Not sure where this leaves the Glamazon now after being built as a monster just to lose clean to a simple pinning combination and not even on PPV but it did make for great entertainment.

The rise of Carlito and Santino

In only the second week of their build they beat Kendrik and London to win the number one contenders spot for the tag team championship. The WWE also gave them some good mic time after the match as they dubbed themselves ‘The International Superstars.” If they are going to give Santino mic time after matches he needs to work on his cardio-vascular as he was gasping for breath throughout his promo.

Solid matches

The card for Raw this week was one of the best for solid wrestling matches with JBL vs. HHH, Orton vs. Regal and Chris Jericho vs. Umaga. With cards like this Raw can put on a solid two hours of wrestling. Only thing to be careful of is balance as I find on Raw that the first hour of the show is mainly talking and the second hour is mainly wrestling.

Bad Points

Burchill misued

After not being seen on Raw for some time Burchill was put on as one of the last matches with no build against Jim Duggan. Now to get a match that close to the end of Raw is great but matches against Jim Duggan are one way for your career to be killed. Add to this the fact that his angle with Katie lea seems to have been dropped or forgotten about there doesn’t seem to be much happening for him.

Orton vs. Regal misplaced in the card

You’re in England you have the Raw GM and England native Regal going up against the champion and you put it on at the mid way point of the show it makes no sense. To have HHH vs. JBL as your main event with the only build for the match being that they have never fought each other before is terrible.

Weak ending

I thought the ending to Raw this week was weak with JBL leaving the ring after laying the beat to HHH and Randy Orton, it just seemed like something else was going to happen and nothing did. The WWE are really pushing JBL at the moment with lots of promo time and main event matches, need to be careful that they don’t push him too far.

Overall

I thought it was a really good Raw that could have been great. WWE just have to watch that they don’t mess up on any segments as one bad segment can ruin a show especially the ending segment.

WWE Raw Review - 17th March 2008

Two weeks away from Wrestlemania and the last week of Triple Threat Takeover, I was really looking forward to this week’s Raw and it delivered in spades with their best offering for some time. The show with a few minor exceptions was well paced and very entertaining and developed a lot of feuds nicely for Mania.

Good Points

A push for Jericho

With only two episodes of Raw to go before Mania it was great to see him opening the show with his Highlight Reel section. His guest this week was the Big Show and after a good war of words between the two a match was made between them for later on in the show for the Intercontinental title. After being poorly handled since his return I hope they continue his push and that he wins ‘Money in the Bank’ at Mania.

Good storyline development

With a few exceptions all the matches served well to develop storylines for Wrestlemania. Umaga was dominant again beating Kendrik and London, Jericho got himself disqualified to keep the belt but ended up being knocked out after one punch from the big Show and HBK came and made the save for Ric Flair to prevent him getting fired after Flair had asked him not to.

JBL the one man Heat machine

His match with Colin Delaney may have been pointless, you make think he is an idiot and you may think that he wrestling ability is limited at best but one thing JBL can do is work a crowd. His mic and character work as a heel are awesome and after only recently coming back to the active roster he is already one of the most hated heels on Raw.

Great Ending

TNA really need to watch this episode of Raw as they showed how to end a show. An ending of a show should be crazy with lots of things happening like this week’s episode of Raw had but when the cameras go off air the viewers need a definitive image and happening which they got. I thought Cena and Orton’s match against the entire Raw roster was well booked and kept both of them strong whilst still keeping it believable. We also finally ended a Raw with HHH on top after laying the beat on Orton and Cena after their match.

Bad Points

No Mayweather

With Mayweather costing the WWE millions of dollars to bring in you thought they would be getting better use out of him. With this being the match that has got the media attention for Wrestlemania they need him on their weekly shows to get their money’s worth. Now his non appearance may have been because of a contractual reason but if the WWE invested all this cash in him and not to have it put in a contract that he had to be on every Raw before Mania makes no sense.

Two people with the combined age of hundred having a wrestling match on Raw isn’t the best idea.

The Vince McMahon vs. Ric Flair was one of the most shockingly awful matches I have seen on raw and was only saved by HBK in the end. The match looked weak and was very slow. I know they did it to cash in on Vince’s induction on to the Walk of Fame in Hollywood but the match must have left every wrestling fan across the world hiding behind the sofa because of it’s cringeworthyness.

What to do with Santino

Santino Marella was in three segments of Raw this week normally it is main event stars that get this amount of segments in a show. By putting him in a number of segments it’s obvious the WWE like him but they won’t put him in a full blown singles match and is yet to have a proper one on one feud. I fear in a minute he may be the next Taz who came over to be a wrestler but was soon moved to other duties which now see him as a commentator.

Overall

The WWE did the most important things right and built the right matches for mania. Would have liked to have seen Batista on the show to develop his feud with Umaga but at least I got see a minute or so of Burchill. If the WWE just iron out these little issues they could have the best Raw for some time next week.