BRM Reviews the 1/9/2012 Raw

[Big Red Machine]

KANE PROMO- GREAT!

KANE & CENA BRAWL- very good.

SHEAMUS & SANTINO MARELLA vs. JINDER MAHAL & WADE BARRETT- 3.75/10. Another quick loss for Jobber Mahal.

THE MIZ & JOHNNY ACE BACKSTAGE- okay

EDGE GOES INTO THE HALL OF FAME- I’m not going to say that Edge doesn’t deserve it, but I think WWE should have saved this for the next Wrestlemania in Canada (it has been about ten years now, so we are due for one soon). Canadians have gotten the short end of the stick from WWE when it comes to their natives winning at Mania at home, so I thought it would be nice to save some of the big Canadian HOF names like Edge, Trish, and Rick Martel for next time Mania comes to Canada.

ZACK RYDER & EVE TORRES BACKSTAGE- okay.

DANIEL BRYAN vs. KOFI KINGSTON- 3.25/10 Spectacular, considering that they were only given one minute and twenty seconds.

DRAGON & BIG SHOW SEGMENT- good hype for Smackdown.

BRODUS CLAY DEBUT- I am speechless right now.

BRODUS CLAY vs. CURT HAWKINS- Occasionally, in pro-wrestling, someone pitches an idea that is so ridiculous that they should probably be slapped for bringing it up. Nine times out of ten it doesn’t make it to air, is altered to become something not as crappy, or (in some unfortunate cases), it makes it to air and is deservedly crapped all over by the fans. This, ladies and gentlemen, is number ten. BEST GIMMICK OF THE YEAR!

MIZ & PEOPLE BACKSTAGE- short but good. I really liked having the camera catch the conversation between Miz & Rosa, Primo, & Epico at the end. Too often in wrestling, the camera just happens to be in the right place at the right time to catch something. Occasionally joining something in the middle gives us a refreshing feel of unscriptedness.

CM PUNK vs. JACK SWAGGER (w/Vickie Guerrero & Dolph Ziggler)- 6.75/10. I would have given it a seven if they had just had Swagger kick out and have Punk go into the Anaconda Vise for the win. I get what they are going for, but I thought it as dumb an unnecessary.

MIZ, RICARDO, RODRIGUEZ, & THE BELLAS BACKSTAGE- GREAT!

R-TRUTH, RICARDO RODRIGUEZ, & THE MIZ SEGMENT- pretty good.

JERICHO SH*T- this time he not only doesn’t say anything, but he also cries.

EVE & RYDER RUN AWAY- bad segment. This just came off all wrong, and the whole time that Ryder was frantically changing the tire while Eve overacted in the front seat, I just wanted to laugh.

JOHN CENA vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER (w/Vickie Guerrero)- No rating. Bad segment. Some decent wrestling interrupted by the Ryder crap. My problem with this is the way it was done. Putting Kane assaulting Zack Ryder up on the TitanTron during a main event match makes some sense. But that’s not what happened. What happened was that they put Ryder changing his tire up on the TitanTron in the middle of a main event match. Then Kane came and assaulted Ryder, justifying the focus afterwards. This, to me, breaks kayfabe. It’s not like the cameraman saw Kane coming, because the camera was focused on Ryder the whole time.

Overall, an eh episode of Raw. Much better than last week, but that’s not saying much.

[Lynas]

BRODUS CLAY DEBUT- BEST GIMMICK OF THE YEAR!

Yes Big Red. I Agree...

BRODUS! BRODUS!

[kiel297]

BRODUS CLAY DEBUT- BEST GIMMICK OF THE YEAR!

Yes Big Red. I Agree...

BRODUS! BRODUS!

Long live the Funkasaurus!

[yourcrapsweak]

Nobody has nothing at all to say about Brodus other than some witty comment? And nobody has said "someone call Ernest Miller because Brodus is about to land on Planet Lawsuit for Gimmick Infringement?"

No but seriously, I thought this episode was a joke. Like TNA level bad. The Brodus debut was weird. What happened to the angry Brodus they were hyping? It makes no sense. While rehabilitating, did he discover 70's funk music? And did he also just discover 70's drugs, too? You had the potential to make this guy one of your biggest heels (aside from Mark Henry) and you make him the "Funkasaurus"? This guy's career is over. Never will he be able to get out of this. It's like Henry and the "Sexual Chocolate" chants. 10 years from now, Brodus will be at some indy show (or MAYBE WWE) and they'll chant "Funkasaurus" every match he has. Poor guy.

The whole Kane/Cena angle is turning into a cartoon, which would be fine if it weren't your main event angle. Ryder's tires are slashed while Eve is screaming in the car? And then he bounces off of the protected whatever he landed on? Come on.

Too much comedy where it shouldn't be. Raw was garbage.

[Big Red Machine]

Nobody has nothing at all to say about Brodus other than some witty comment? And nobody has said "someone call Ernest Miller because Brodus is about to land on Planet Lawsuit for Gimmick Infringement?"

No but seriously, I thought this episode was a joke. Like TNA level bad. The Brodus debut was weird. What happened to the angry Brodus they were hyping? It makes no sense. While rehabilitating, did he discover 70's funk music? And did he also just discover 70's drugs, too? You had the potential to make this guy one of your biggest heels (aside from Mark Henry) and you make him the "Funkasaurus"? This guy's career is over. Never will he be able to get out of this. It's like Henry and the "Sexual Chocolate" chants. 10 years from now, Brodus will be at some indy show (or MAYBE WWE) and they'll chant "Funkasaurus" every match he has. Poor guy.

The whole Kane/Cena angle is turning into a cartoon, which would be fine if it weren't your main event angle. Ryder's tires are slashed while Eve is screaming in the car? And then he bounces off of the protected whatever he landed on? Come on.

Too much comedy where it shouldn't be. Raw was garbage.

1. About Brodus Clay... Look at Ziggler. He got over enough that the "SPIRIT SQUAD!" chants stopped. We don't know the real Brodus Clay. We only know the Brodus Clay who was being influenced by his NXT pro in order to try to win NXT. For all we know, this might well be the real Brodus Clay.

2. I agree about the Ryder stuff... but if I may, last week you were saying it is perfectly okay for Kane to be a supernatural force pulling someone down into the depths of hell, but this week Kane scaring people is too cartoony? I thought this week was better than last because this angle was much more down to earth and real. Kane's promo from the beginning of the show is one man's twisted (or maybe not so twisted? maybe he is right and we do feel like that) view of the world. That is much more human that the devil urging John Cena to do evil for evil's sake.

[Verdun]

I, like many, welcome our new funky overlord.

[yourcrapsweak]

Nobody has nothing at all to say about Brodus other than some witty comment? And nobody has said "someone call Ernest Miller because Brodus is about to land on Planet Lawsuit for Gimmick Infringement?"

No but seriously, I thought this episode was a joke. Like TNA level bad. The Brodus debut was weird. What happened to the angry Brodus they were hyping? It makes no sense. While rehabilitating, did he discover 70's funk music? And did he also just discover 70's drugs, too? You had the potential to make this guy one of your biggest heels (aside from Mark Henry) and you make him the "Funkasaurus"? This guy's career is over. Never will he be able to get out of this. It's like Henry and the "Sexual Chocolate" chants. 10 years from now, Brodus will be at some indy show (or MAYBE WWE) and they'll chant "Funkasaurus" every match he has. Poor guy.

The whole Kane/Cena angle is turning into a cartoon, which would be fine if it weren't your main event angle. Ryder's tires are slashed while Eve is screaming in the car? And then he bounces off of the protected whatever he landed on? Come on.

Too much comedy where it shouldn't be. Raw was garbage.

1. About Brodus Clay... Look at Ziggler. He got over enough that the "SPIRIT SQUAD!" chants stopped. We don't know the real Brodus Clay. We only know the Brodus Clay who was being influenced by his NXT pro in order to try to win NXT. For all we know, this might well be the real Brodus Clay.

2. I agree about the Ryder stuff... but if I may, last week you were saying it is perfectly okay for Kane to be a supernatural force pulling someone down into the depths of hell, but this week Kane scaring people is too cartoony? I thought this week was better than last because this angle was much more down to earth and real. Kane's promo from the beginning of the show is one man's twisted (or maybe not so twisted? maybe he is right and we do feel like that) view of the world. That is much more human that the devil urging John Cena to do evil for evil's sake.

Ziggler is cool with the smart fans because he's so damn good. I don't ever see Brodus getting to that level. And he was with Del Rio before he got injured at Extreme Rules I think it was. But it doesn't make logical sense, because Laurinitis was telling us Brodus was really mad, and he should have been. If I were Brodus, I'd be pissed. I wouldn't come out all happy go lucky, I'd be like "Goddammit finally! Let's kick some ass!"

Last week it was within Kane's character to do that. He's always done that stuff. It seemed more like Kane and less like a cartoon. This week is was just a plain out campy horror movie. And I think you're getting worked, actually. The devil is supposed to be convincing, and he's even convincing you. If they wanted to turn Cena heel, they would have done it already, or at least shown some weakness in him by now. It's clear that Kane is the heel (devil) who is trying to tempt the babyface into being evil. ALSO, I think it's a brilliant way of stopping the Cena sucks chants, because they're trying to make the fans chant it now, and it's a rebellious chant, so when you market the rebellious behavior, it's not cool anymore. It's like your dad wearing your favorite band's t-shirt. I think that's what this is all for.

[Big Red Machine]

Nobody has nothing at all to say about Brodus other than some witty comment? And nobody has said "someone call Ernest Miller because Brodus is about to land on Planet Lawsuit for Gimmick Infringement?"

No but seriously, I thought this episode was a joke. Like TNA level bad. The Brodus debut was weird. What happened to the angry Brodus they were hyping? It makes no sense. While rehabilitating, did he discover 70's funk music? And did he also just discover 70's drugs, too? You had the potential to make this guy one of your biggest heels (aside from Mark Henry) and you make him the "Funkasaurus"? This guy's career is over. Never will he be able to get out of this. It's like Henry and the "Sexual Chocolate" chants. 10 years from now, Brodus will be at some indy show (or MAYBE WWE) and they'll chant "Funkasaurus" every match he has. Poor guy.

The whole Kane/Cena angle is turning into a cartoon, which would be fine if it weren't your main event angle. Ryder's tires are slashed while Eve is screaming in the car? And then he bounces off of the protected whatever he landed on? Come on.

Too much comedy where it shouldn't be. Raw was garbage.

1. About Brodus Clay... Look at Ziggler. He got over enough that the "SPIRIT SQUAD!" chants stopped. We don't know the real Brodus Clay. We only know the Brodus Clay who was being influenced by his NXT pro in order to try to win NXT. For all we know, this might well be the real Brodus Clay.

2. I agree about the Ryder stuff... but if I may, last week you were saying it is perfectly okay for Kane to be a supernatural force pulling someone down into the depths of hell, but this week Kane scaring people is too cartoony? I thought this week was better than last because this angle was much more down to earth and real. Kane's promo from the beginning of the show is one man's twisted (or maybe not so twisted? maybe he is right and we do feel like that) view of the world. That is much more human that the devil urging John Cena to do evil for evil's sake.

Ziggler is cool with the smart fans because he's so damn good. I don't ever see Brodus getting to that level. And he was with Del Rio before he got injured at Extreme Rules I think it was. But it doesn't make logical sense, because Laurinitis was telling us Brodus was really mad, and he should have been. If I were Brodus, I'd be pissed. I wouldn't come out all happy go lucky, I'd be like "Goddammit finally! Let's kick some a**!"

Last week it was within Kane's character to do that. He's always done that stuff. It seemed more like Kane and less like a cartoon. This week is was just a plain out campy horror movie. And I think you're getting worked, actually. The devil is supposed to be convincing, and he's even convincing you. If they wanted to turn Cena heel, they would have done it already, or at least shown some weakness in him by now. It's clear that Kane is the heel (devil) who is trying to tempt the babyface into being evil. ALSO, I think it's a brilliant way of stopping the Cena sucks chants, because they're trying to make the fans chant it now, and it's a rebellious chant, so when you market the rebellious behavior, it's not cool anymore. It's like your dad wearing your favorite band's t-shirt. I think that's what this is all for.

1. Yes, there is a lot of lost potential with the crazy, rabid angry Brodus Clay, but that doesn't mean that this is bad.

2. I agree that a lot of the stuff with Kane and Ryder this week felt like it was from a really bad horror movie, with all of the backstage stalking and stuff. While it was dumb, it doesn't actually hurt the angle, story-wise.

3. I think that, if they are going to turn Cena heel, it will happen AT Mania. Either during the match, or after it (think Rock vs. Hogan... but when Rock goes to try to get Cena to play to the crowd, Cena blindsides Rock and just beats him savagely.

4. If they are working me... good for them... and if the angle is good, then it is good for me, too.

5. I don't know if it will stop the "Cena sucks" chants, simply because most people view Kane as a great worker who never got the main event attention or title runs that he deserved, and a lot of them view Cena's mega-push (as well as Batista's and Orton's) as a major reason for that. It won't stop the chants. Furthermore, as long as The Rock wants them to do it, they will do it.

[cero2k]

No but seriously, I thought this episode was a joke. Like TNA level bad. The Brodus debut was weird. What happened to the angry Brodus they were hyping? It makes no sense. While rehabilitating, did he discover 70's funk music? And did he also just discover 70's drugs, too? You had the potential to make this guy one of your biggest heels (aside from Mark Henry) and you make him the "Funkasaurus"? This guy's career is over. Never will he be able to get out of this. It's like Henry and the "Sexual Chocolate" chants. 10 years from now, Brodus will be at some indy show (or MAYBE WWE) and they'll chant "Funkasaurus" every match he has. Poor guy.

this all the way to heaven. Look, i don't have a problem with the gimmick, it's not the first time a dancing gimmick debuts and it works, but why was he shown as a mad motherfucker hungry to inflict pain, then this. The vignettes don't represent what we got, and thus i feel it looks stupid. Kaneroonie stupid.

I was definitely more excited to see hawkins on raw than clay debut with that gimmick.

[Earth Child]

Did anyone else get a Flash Funk and The Funkettes vibe from Brodus' debut?

[cero2k]

Did anyone else get a Flash Funk and The Funkettes vibe from Brodus' debut?

it was the same song, wasn't it?

[Rabid619]

it was the same song, wasn't it?

Nah that was Ernest Millers theme from his 2003/2004 run

[cero2k]

it was the same song, wasn't it?

Nah that was Ernest Millers theme from his 2003/2004 run

true, i knew i've heard the song before

[yourcrapsweak]

He is Flash Funk and Big Daddy Viscera's lovechild.

[kiel297]

What happened to the angry Brodus they were hyping? It makes no sense. While rehabilitating, did he discover 70's funk music? And did he also just discover 70's drugs, too? You had the potential to make this guy one of your biggest heels (aside from Mark Henry) and you make him the "Funkasaurus"? This guy's career is over. Never will he be able to get out of this. It's like Henry and the "Sexual Chocolate" chants. 10 years from now, Brodus will be at some indy show (or MAYBE WWE) and they'll chant "Funkasaurus" every match he has. Poor guy.

Any money that Brodus created the gimmick, just like he created the Hall of Pain gimmick before it was given to Mark Henry.

The guy rolls with it too, just watch this. He doesn't seem out of place in that gimmick. It all fits.

[NWK]

Did anyone else get a Flash Funk and The Funkettes vibe from Brodus' debut?

So I wasn't the only one who immediately thought "Flash Funk" upon seeing Brodus? Good to know.

[kiel297]

With 2 monster heels on Raw already (Henry and Kane) a third would of been bland and boring. Brodus is at home with this gimmick. He was clearly enjoying himself out there. So what if the vignettes aired a completely different gimmick? If you ot Funkasaurus vignettes everybody would of hated the gimmick. This needed to come as a surprise. This debut went perfectly.

I can't believe I'm about to say this... but I do believe Charlie has shown some knowledge and appears to be correct.

[badnewzxl]

With 2 monster heels on Raw already (Henry and Kane) a third would of been bland and boring. Brodus is at home with this gimmick. He was clearly enjoying himself out there. So what if the vignettes aired a completely different gimmick? If you ot Funkasaurus vignettes everybody would of hated the gimmick. This needed to come as a surprise. This debut went perfectly.

Henry's technically on SD!, but I see what you mean.

And everyone who's saying that Brodus was hurt: when? He was working Superstars every week until they began hyping his debut on RAW. And he didn't get injured at Extreme Rules; he got busted open, but he was on Raw the very next night. When Del Rio was drafte to Raw, Clay was standing backstage with him asking "what about me boss?"

[cero2k]

Henry's technically on SD!, but I see what you mean.

And everyone who's saying that Brodus was hurt: when? He was working Superstars every week until they began hyping his debut on RAW. And he didn't get injured at Extreme Rules; he got busted open, but he was on Raw the very next night. When Del Rio was drafte to Raw, Clay was standing backstage with him asking "what about me boss?"

i remember mention of a concussion.

[badnewzxl]

Henry's technically on SD!, but I see what you mean.

And everyone who's saying that Brodus was hurt: when? He was working Superstars every week until they began hyping his debut on RAW. And he didn't get injured at Extreme Rules; he got busted open, but he was on Raw the very next night. When Del Rio was drafte to Raw, Clay was standing backstage with him asking "what about me boss?"

i remember mention of a concussion.

I stand corrected; he DID get a concussion. I remember hearing he got mad props for still being there for RAW the next night.