BRM Reviews the 7/16/2012 Raw

[Big Red Machine]

CM PUNK & THE BIG SHOW SEGMENT- not very good. All of this to tell us things that we already know: Cena won MITB, and, if he so chooses, he could cash in after Punk is already injured from a match.

After holding out to get a more hyped match, the best AW could do was a curtain-jerker spot on the 999th Raw?


WWE TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: R-Truth & Kofi Kingston(c) vs. The Prime Time Players (w/AW)- 4/10
NO! NO! NO! Why the hell would you have Kofi and Truth win. The Prime Time Players are a good act, and Kofi & R-Truth aren’t doing anything at all.

AJ, DRAGON, & EVE BACKSTAGE- so Dragon is being a babyface again, AJ is no longer an attention-starved psycho, and everything is back to normal with no explanation whatsoever? WTF?
Eve’s dialog was just painful scripted.

ZACK RYDER vs. ALBERTO DEL RIO (w/Ricardo Rodriguez)- squash.
What was the point thi-WHOA! I had totally forgotten about Rey.

HEATH SLATER STUFF – how does this help anyone? Now not only is he being squashed, but they have him being an idiot in a video promo, too. And as if there was some way that WWE could make me enjoy this even less, the lights went off. I was expecting Taker, but when they came back on, I got the f*cking Usos. Why couldn’t the Usos have accompanied Rikishi to ringside, or just walked down the aisle like normal people?

EVE TORRES & THE MIZ vs. DANIEL BRYAN & AJ- no rating. AJ got to be AJ a bit.

AJ & DRAGON SEGMENT- Really, WWE? Really?
Oh dear, G-d! And now they getting married NEXT WEEK… on Raw. Don’t they even have to clear this with someone? Does WWE really have so little planned for this milestone show which they have been hyping up for months that they are willing to let AJ and Dragon get married during it to fill out time? And twenty minutes later they have a graphic for it?

RYBACK vs. JACK SWAGGER- DUD!
Why the f*ck was there no match? Seriously. There is no reason why the ref didn’t ring the bell, and no reason for the sound guy to have played Ryback’s music at the end.

CHRIS JERICHO & DOLPH ZIGGLER SEGMENT- decent. I guess Jericho is going babyface now.


JTG vs. BRODUS CLAY (w/the Funkadactyls)- 3.25/10
If Brodus Clay is the only Funkasaurus “in captivity,” does that mean that there are other Funkasauruses out there somewhere?

CM PUNK vs. THE BIG SHOW- 6.25/10
Not good enough for a main event. I actually would have had Big Show win clean here, then have Cena come down with the briefcase and make his announcement. Then, next week, Show interferes in the match, setting up Cena vs. Punk vs. Show at Summer Slam.

POST-MATCH SEGMENT- LOVED IT!

Overall, a very crazy episode of Raw. Not very good on it’s own but pretty good set-up for next week.

[cero2k]

HEATH SLATER STUFF – how does this help anyone? Now not only is he being squashed, but they have him being an idiot in a video promo, too. And as if there was some way that WWE could make me enjoy this even less, the lights went off. I was expecting Taker, but when they came back on, I got the f*cking Usos. Why couldn’t the Usos have accompanied Rikishi to ringside, or just walked down the aisle like normal people?

You obviously have no nostalgia in you. This was the best segment of the night. Not only did Rikishi do Umaga's Spike and Yoko's Drop, but then he got to dance with his kids! Never seen the Usos soo proud to be there, and no, i'm not being sarcastic. I thought this was a perfect segment, and i'm actually happy that Rikishi didn't end up dancing with Clay or Scotty 2 Hotty

[Big Red Machine]

HEATH SLATER STUFF – how does this help anyone? Now not only is he being squashed, but they have him being an idiot in a video promo, too. And as if there was some way that WWE could make me enjoy this even less, the lights went off. I was expecting Taker, but when they came back on, I got the f*cking Usos. Why couldn’t the Usos have accompanied Rikishi to ringside, or just walked down the aisle like normal people?

You obviously have no nostalgia in you. This was the best segment of the night. Not only did Rikishi do Umaga's Spike and Yoko's Drop, but then he got to dance with his kids! Never seen the Usos soo proud to be there, and no, i'm not being sarcastic. I thought this was a perfect segment, and i'm actually happy that Rikishi didn't end up dancing with Clay or Scotty 2 Hotty

I was actually thinking, "if they want Rikishi to dance, why not have him Dance with Brodus Clay."

[kiel297]

You can't tell me you HONESTLY expected The Undertaker when the lights went out right? The moment Rikishi put his head down and the lights went out I knew exactly what was coming (minus The Usos). It was brilliant.

[Big Red Machine]

You can't tell me you HONESTLY expected The Undertaker when the lights went out right? The moment Rikishi put his head down and the lights went out I knew exactly what was coming (minus The Usos). It was brilliant.

I actually did honestly expect Taker. As far as a returning legend goes, Rikishi, like Doink last week, was a disappointment (seriously: Sid, Vader, DDP, Rikishi, Roddy Piper- one of these things is not like the others), so I was expecting another legend to come out, the same way that DDP did last week. I don't think it is unreasonable to believe that Taker could show up at the 1000th Raw, and I therefore thought it might be possible that he might show up tonight. If Rikishi was going to dance, why would they have turned all of the lights off, rather than using a spotlight?

[Bob-O]

You can't tell me you HONESTLY expected The Undertaker when the lights went out right? The moment Rikishi put his head down and the lights went out I knew exactly what was coming (minus The Usos). It was brilliant.

I actually did honestly expect Taker. As far as a returning legend goes, Rikishi, like Doink last week, was a disappointment (seriously: Sid, Vader, DDP, Rikishi, Roddy Piper- one of these things is not like the others), so I was expecting another legend to come out, the same way that DDP did last week.

I thought this as well. Not with 'Taker, I was expecting Too Cool to be in the ring when the lights came back on. But, with the 'Legends' piece. I remember when they started with Vader they made it clear that we should expect "MAIN EVENT" talent from Raw's past to appear each week. I know Rikishi had an angle with Stone Cold, but he was hardly "Main Event" talent. They even focused on the fact that he was a "former Intercontinental Champion". I've never been a fan of his, and this was a big let down. Furthermore, with this in the script, they should have given Brodus the night off.

I popped for the Usos, though. Mostly because they were on TV in a segment that made them look good (Dude's can DANCE!), but it was also one of those moments that you know will stick with all these guys forever. On RAW 1500, or whatever, when they do those Superstar Interviews, if the Usos are still around you know THAT'S the moment they'll pick. "The time they got to dance with their dad." Unless Rakishi comes back to manage them or something, that would have to stick with them more than winning the tag team championship.

It's a shame really that these guys are where they are in the scheme of things (NXT, Jobbing, ect..), they come across to me as the most potentially great team on the roster. A Samoan Swat Team vibe, except with enough charisma to get over on their own.

[cero2k]

I thought this as well. Not with 'Taker, I was expecting Too Cool to be in the ring when the lights came back on. But, with the 'Legends' piece. I remember when they started with Vader they made it clear that we should expect "MAIN EVENT" talent from Raw's past to appear each week. I know Rikishi had an angle with Stone Cold, but he was hardly "Main Event" talent. They even focused on the fact that he was a "former Intercontinental Champion". I've never been a fan of his, and this was a big let down. Furthermore, with this in the script, they should have given Brodus the night off.

I popped for the Usos, though. Mostly because they were on TV in a segment that made them look good (Dude's can DANCE!), but it was also one of those moments that you know will stick with all these guys forever. On RAW 1500, or whatever, when they do those Superstar Interviews, if the Usos are still around you know THAT'S the moment they'll pick. "The time they got to dance with their dad." Unless Rakishi comes back to manage them or something, that would have to stick with them more than winning the tag team championship.

It's a shame really that these guys are where they are in the scheme of things (NXT, Jobbing, ect..), they come across to me as the most potentially great team on the roster. A Samoan Swat Team vibe, except with enough charisma to get over on their own.

scotty 2 hotty actually made his "legend" return during an NXT show. Worm an' all.

on the main eventers thing, they pretty much screwed up from the beginning with Cindy Lauper, plus DDP was never a main eventer in WWF/E, Rikishi had more world title shots than DDP i'm sure.

[Serujuunin]

HEATH SLATER STUFF – how does this help anyone? Now not only is he being squashed, but they have him being an idiot in a video promo, too. And as if there was some way that WWE could make me enjoy this even less, the lights went off. I was expecting Taker, but when they came back on, I got the f*cking Usos. Why couldn’t the Usos have accompanied Rikishi to ringside, or just walked down the aisle like normal people?

You obviously have no nostalgia in you. This was the best segment of the night. Not only did Rikishi do Umaga's Spike and Yoko's Drop, but then he got to dance with his kids! Never seen the Usos soo proud to be there, and no, i'm not being sarcastic. I thought this was a perfect segment, and i'm actually happy that Rikishi didn't end up dancing with Clay or Scotty 2 Hotty

I loved every part of this segment, and I legit marked out for Rikishi and The Usos dancing. It was actually my favourite part of the night.

[Big Red Machine]

I thought this as well. Not with 'Taker, I was expecting Too Cool to be in the ring when the lights came back on. But, with the 'Legends' piece. I remember when they started with Vader they made it clear that we should expect "MAIN EVENT" talent from Raw's past to appear each week. I know Rikishi had an angle with Stone Cold, but he was hardly "Main Event" talent. They even focused on the fact that he was a "former Intercontinental Champion". I've never been a fan of his, and this was a big let down. Furthermore, with this in the script, they should have given Brodus the night off.

I popped for the Usos, though. Mostly because they were on TV in a segment that made them look good (Dude's can DANCE!), but it was also one of those moments that you know will stick with all these guys forever. On RAW 1500, or whatever, when they do those Superstar Interviews, if the Usos are still around you know THAT'S the moment they'll pick. "The time they got to dance with their dad." Unless Rakishi comes back to manage them or something, that would have to stick with them more than winning the tag team championship.

It's a shame really that these guys are where they are in the scheme of things (NXT, Jobbing, ect..), they come across to me as the most potentially great team on the roster. A Samoan Swat Team vibe, except with enough charisma to get over on their own.

scotty 2 hotty actually made his "legend" return during an NXT show. Worm an' all.

on the main eventers thing, they pretty much screwed up from the beginning with Cindy Lauper, plus DDP was never a main eventer in WWF/E, Rikishi had more world title shots than DDP i'm sure.

But DDP was a main eventer in WCW.

[cero2k]

scotty 2 hotty actually made his "legend" return during an NXT show. Worm an' all.

on the main eventers thing, they pretty much screwed up from the beginning with Cindy Lauper, plus DDP was never a main eventer in WWF/E, Rikishi had more world title shots than DDP i'm sure.

But DDP was a main eventer in WCW.

yeah, but i've never really seen WWE give a fuck about former WCW main eventers other than Booker. But true, point taken.

[Bob-O]

scotty 2 hotty actually made his "legend" return during an NXT show. Worm an' all.

on the main eventers thing, they pretty much screwed up from the beginning with Cindy Lauper, plus DDP was never a main eventer in WWF/E, Rikishi had more world title shots than DDP i'm sure.

But DDP was a main eventer in WCW.

yeah, but i've never really seen WWE give a f**k about former WCW main eventers other than Booker. But true, point taken.

I don't think it's that WWE doesn't give a fuck about former WCW main eventers, they've just never given DDP any credit for his standing in the company. Goldberg and Steiner were both brought in at the top of the card. Flair was treated as a legend. DDP just didn't get over with his gimmick reassignment ( ~X( if it ain't broke don't fix it ~X( ) and I think they've held it against him all these years. DDP is a main eventer in my eyes, anywhere he goes.

I excused Cindy Lauper because of the inclusion of Piper and Richter.

I read about Scotty on NXT (which sounds awesome!), which is what made me think he'd for sure be dancing with Rikishi on Raw.

[cero2k]

I don't think it's that WWE doesn't give a f**k about former WCW main eventers, they've just never given DDP any credit for his standing in the company. Goldberg and Steiner were both brought in at the top of the card. Flair was treated as a legend. DDP just didn't get over with his gimmick reassignment ( ~X( if it ain't broke don't fix it ~X( ) and I think they've held it against him all these years. DDP is a main eventer in my eyes, anywhere he goes.

true, but to be honest, during the invasion era, almost everyone from WCW got brought in as big things. it is lately that i think that former WCW guys are not that big anymore for WWE. But what i'm going for is that DDP i would say is about the same relevancy as Rikishi when it comes to what WWE would care about. The main event scene used to be really about guys that WWE will rather save until the 1000th episode, there's not a lot of main eventers i could think about bringing that are (1) not small enough to want to save for the 1000th episode like Nash, Bret, Foley, etc or (2) dead and not in good terms with WWE. They did kinda sold it big starting with Vader and saying it was gonna be past main eventers, but they can bring in more iconic guys like Rikishi and DDP and make more sense.