BRM Reviews the 12/10/2012 Raw

[Big Red Machine]

OPENING SEGMENT- bad. Ziggler cuts a dull, generic promo, then Sheamus comes out and cuts a standard Sheamus promo. Then Show comes out and he and Sheamus trade clunky promos for the purpose of explaining their “no contact” clause to anyone who missed Smackdown. This would have been accomplished much easier by just having the announcers mention it. Then Sheamus decides to be a dick and push Ziggler’s ladder over for no reason… and Ziggler, awesome athlete that he is, seems to have lost his ability to move quickly. How the hell did Ziggler not manage to get off that ladder in time?

VINCE & VICKIE SEGMENT- dull

R-TRUTH vs. WADE BARRETT- no rating, eh segment. I would have bad Barrett go over here. Truth doesn’t need the win against Barrett because he has pins on Cesaro himself to build him up. Kofi attacking Barrett out of nowhere and especially after he had lost his match was a really heelish thing to do.

AJ & PEOPLE BACKSTAGE- snore.

FATAL 4 WAY ELIMINATION MATCH FOR A TAG TEAM TITLE SHOT AT TLC: Team Rhodes Scholars vs. The Usos vs. The Prime Time Players vs. Primo & Epcio (w/Rosa Mendes)- 4.5/10
I would have had the heels cheat to get the win here to make the Usos look stronger and to set them up for a tag team title shot down the line.

ALICIA FOX vs. EVE TORRES- 2/10
OUTSTANDING post-match heel antics by Eve. If I gave a damn at all about Alicia Fox, I would be ultra-pissed right now.

CM PUNK & PAUL HEYMAN PROMOS- decent

DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. SHEAMUS- 7/10
Great match, but would a clean finish have been too much to ask for?

SHIELD PROMO- the jerky camerawork here was really annoying.

ZACK RYDER vs. ALERBTO DEL RIO (w/Ricardo Rodriguez)- 4.75/10
Ryder got in a lot more offense than I was expecting him to.

AJ LEE vs. VICKIE GUERRERO- DUD! So Vince creates this match to allow AJ to get a chance for revenge on Vickie, but doesn’t do anything when the crooked referee is assigned to the match? To make matters worse, Vickie’s pin didn’t look like it was anywhere near enough to hold AJ down, even for a fast-count (which this wasn’t). An entirely pointless and poorly though-out segment.

AJ & CENA BACKSTAGE- now AJ is crying like a baby and needs Cena to comfort her. In eight months, WWE has taken my favorite character in wrestling and utterly destroyed her, removing absolutely everything I found enjoyable.

ANTONIO CESARO vs. KOFI KINGSTON- 6.75/10
Someone please give these guys even more time! Take the belt off of Kofi and just let him and Cesaro feud over the US Title. If this is any indication, the matches will rock!

MIZ TV SEGMENT- now that I get a look at that mustache up close, I’m not sure if that is Cody Rhodes or Icarus. Either way, that thing is freakin’ ugly. Anyway, this segment didn’t accomplish anything at all, but at least it was entertaining.

AJ & CENA BACKSTAGE AGAIN- this whole storyline feels like it is being written by an insecure teenage girl with a crush on John Cena.

JOHN CENA vs. THE BIG SHOW- 6/10
Not good enough for a main event. The match end when the Shield attacks Cena, leading to a big schmoz. This felt like the pretty much same thing as the of last week’s show, and as a result, I just don’t care.

One other thing I would like to address is the guys in the third row with the big nWo signs: You guys do know that it’s 2012, right?

Overall, a very up and down episode of Raw. A few matches that were MUCH better than we usually get, but tons of crap, too.

[Serujuunin]

AJ & CENA BACKSTAGE AGAIN- this whole storyline feels like it is being written by an insecure teenage girl with a crush on John Cena.

Still a better love story than Twilight.

[cero2k]

AJ & CENA BACKSTAGE AGAIN- this whole storyline feels like it is being written by an insecure teenage girl with a crush on John Cena.

Still a better love story than Twilight.

it kills me to say this, but not really

[Serujuunin]

AJ & CENA BACKSTAGE AGAIN- this whole storyline feels like it is being written by an insecure teenage girl with a crush on John Cena.

Still a better love story than Twilight.

it kills me to say this, but not really

Hey, they could be cute together.

[KILLdozer]

I was waiting for the Rhodes' mustache thing to come up...It looks...ABSOLUTELY...Completely...100...no....125 % ....Just fully ridiculous and stupid...Sure its only a minor detail that wont make or break a tag team...But good lord is that just not a good idea...lol

[KILLdozer]

OPENING SEGMENT- bad. Ziggler cuts a dull, generic promo, then Sheamus comes out and cuts a standard Sheamus promo. Then Show comes out and he and Sheamus trade clunky promos for the purpose of explaining their “no contact” clause to anyone who missed Smackdown. This would have been accomplished much easier by just having the announcers mention it. Then Sheamus decides to be a dick and push Ziggler’s ladder over for no reason… and Ziggler, awesome athlete that he is, seems to have lost his ability to move quickly. How the hell did Ziggler not manage to get off that ladder in time?

VINCE & VICKIE SEGMENT- dull

R-TRUTH vs. WADE BARRETT- no rating, eh segment. I would have bad Barrett go over here. Truth doesn’t need the win against Barrett because he has pins on Cesaro himself to build him up. Kofi attacking Barrett out of nowhere and especially after he had lost his match was a really heelish thing to do.

AJ & PEOPLE BACKSTAGE- snore.

FATAL 4 WAY ELIMINATION MATCH FOR A TAG TEAM TITLE SHOT AT TLC: Team Rhodes Scholars vs. The Usos vs. The Prime Time Players vs. Primo & Epcio (w/Rosa Mendes)- 4.5/10
I would have had the heels cheat to get the win here to make the Usos look stronger and to set them up for a tag team title shot down the line.

ALICIA FOX vs. EVE TORRES- 2/10
OUTSTANDING post-match heel antics by Eve. If I gave a damn at all about Alicia Fox, I would be ultra-pissed right now.

CM PUNK & PAUL HEYMAN PROMOS- decent

DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. SHEAMUS- 7/10
Great match, but would a clean finish have been too much to ask for?

SHIELD PROMO- the jerky camerawork here was really annoying.

ZACK RYDER vs. ALERBTO DEL RIO (w/Ricardo Rodriguez)- 4.75/10
Ryder got in a lot more offense than I was expecting him to.

AJ LEE vs. VICKIE GUERRERO- DUD! So Vince creates this match to allow AJ to get a chance for revenge on Vickie, but doesn’t do anything when the crooked referee is assigned to the match? To make matters worse, Vickie’s pin didn’t look like it was anywhere near enough to hold AJ down, even for a fast-count (which this wasn’t). An entirely pointless and poorly though-out segment.

AJ & CENA BACKSTAGE- now AJ is crying like a baby and needs Cena to comfort her. In eight months, WWE has taken my favorite character in wrestling and utterly destroyed her, removing absolutely everything I found enjoyable.

ANTONIO CESARO vs. KOFI KINGSTON- 6.75/10
Someone please give these guys even more time! Take the belt off of Kofi and just let him and Cesaro feud over the US Title. If this is any indication, the matches will rock!

MIZ TV SEGMENT- now that I get a look at that mustache up close, I’m not sure if that is Cody Rhodes or Icarus. Either way, that thing is freakin’ ugly. Anyway, this segment didn’t accomplish anything at all, but at least it was entertaining.

AJ & CENA BACKSTAGE AGAIN- this whole storyline feels like it is being written by an insecure teenage girl with a crush on John Cena.

JOHN CENA vs. THE BIG SHOW- 6/10
Not good enough for a main event. The match end when the Shield attacks Cena, leading to a big schmoz. This felt like the pretty much same thing as the of last week’s show, and as a result, I just don’t care.

One other thing I would like to address is the guys in the third row with the big nWo signs: You guys do know that it’s 2012, right?

Overall, a very up and down episode of Raw. A few matches that were MUCH better than we usually get, but tons of crap, too.

Well ,I missed a few things here and there so i'm going to do my best to provide insight here wherre I can....

So....

Yea,Barrett shouldn't have lost,What was the reasoning for this? Barretts a rising star they are def VERY behind but he lost to a man that's already got a midcard title match at the ppv...As you said Truth didn't really need this...All it did was stall Barrett somewhat.Which is not what they should be doing. In a way though I guess I understand it because if he beat Truth he would be almost be "New Co-No1 contender by pinning the current one,same as beating a champ,but still...I just realized does that mean TRUTH should be in the IC match? No. Kinda screwy booking here with that being said.


Vince and Vick was more shooting I suppose...whatever don't remember it all .

Oh yea,AJ so excited to face VIckie...it was an appropriate reaction for AJ I figured...Maybe could have had more effort though.

Missed the fourway mostly,But Titus should have used a washrag to "Comb" his hair during the entrance,Make it usual now everytime actually.

I saw none of Eve and Alicia...But very swell stuff by Eve...And its YOUR fault you don't care about Alicia lol

I particularly liked the Heyman line: "You people sicken me...How do you chant "FEED ME MORE!" at the WWE Champion?"

Sheamus and Dolph clean end? Yea,probly too much,yes. Sheamus wouldn't need to beat someone who's been rising like Dolph,it would hurt him going into TLC,and Dolph wins there's the argument he should be added to Show-Sheamus...Which Can't happen or is there any need for it with MITB.

I also read the shakin camera was another ripoff/jab/shot at TNA,cuz they love that thing lol

Yea Ryder and ADR...I read somewhere saying Del Rio has dropped ALOT when he actually has a somewhat competitive match with Ryder...Especially the current staleness of Ryder...

Yep,My exact thought is Vince knows better to let Maddox ref...Thinking of that though...Maybe Maddox knows something we don't...Took out the actual ref for "Fame"? ...but still why would Vince let this go down?

WHAT?!? They have no way destroyed her...Sure she's not what she used to be maybe,maybe slight less geek,and "Every-woman" ,but I'd say they've done her wonderfully as far as C-Developement...I see they HAVE taken away your favorite attributes...But its for the better you ask me.

AC and Kingston...Oh for sure these homies nearly tore down the house...I want Champion V Champion on PPV.

Yea...I already told ya about CR's mustache...one thing I n0ticed though was he THE SPITTING IMAGE of Dusty when he got that thoughtful look on his face,kinda Dustin too but DEF American Dream .

Maybe that's half the idea of AJ and Cena...It is completely within AJ's character to be insecure/lovesick...I see Cena asking her to stay away from the ring leading to something big...Also did you catch the look Cena had when he hugged her? Like that man was thinkin of gettin away from her....Hmmm...He also seemed VERY blown away almost when she entered the locker room like nothin...Cena dumps her and she gets VERY VERY upset I see it.

I was halfway waitin for the Ziggler Cash-in,But the commentary was real good. I guess with the same ending they wanted to push the chaos of the TLC 6 man.

[KILLdozer]

That feeling when you make long,thought out reply,and wait for a response...And wait...And wait.

[kiel297]

Cody's moustache is clearly working its way to becoming an homage to one man. Cody and Sandow entered to this man's music on Monday. Dan Severn!

[Big Red Machine]

I also read the shakin camera was another ripoff/jab/shot at TNA,cuz they love that thing lol

I don't see that at all. It felt to me like they were trying to imply that the Shield guys were holding the camera themselves to make it feel more underground/revolution-y, but there is no kayfabe reason why these guys couldn't have gotten a WWE cameraman to film this for them.

WHAT?!? They have no way destroyed her...Sure she's not what she used to be maybe,maybe slight less geek,and "Every-woman" ,but I'd say they've done her wonderfully as far as C-Developement...I see they HAVE taken away your favorite attributes...But its for the better you ask me.

They have absolutely destroyed her. They have constantly shifted her from playing a crazy person to a very serious character way too quickly. Once Vince gave her the GM job she magically became not crazy anymore- or actually more like a different type of crazy, which they then decided to completely get rid of in favor of this romance angle with Cena and feud with Vickie. Constantly changing a character around and not being consistent with the character is what makes it hard for people to care about said characters. This isn't character development. Character development has the character changed and/or fleshed out by the events of the story. This is changing the character to fit the needs of the story at the time.

I am fully aware that underdog, every-woman. slightly naive, but so happy because she is living out her dream of being a WWE superstar pure babyface AJ is not a gimmick that could have lasted more than a few years of TV time, but I think that it had a whole lot more left mileage in it. It is the sort of character that is perfectly built for a Wrestlemania moment, and the sort of character that needs to finish its story (whether by succeeding or failing) before it can evolve from there into something else.

Maybe that's half the idea of AJ and Cena...It is completely within AJ's character to be insecure/lovesick...I see Cena asking her to stay away from the ring leading to something big...Also did you catch the look Cena had when he hugged her? Like that man was thinkin of gettin away from her....Hmmm...He also seemed VERY blown away almost when she entered the locker room like nothin...Cena dumps her and she gets VERY VERY upset I see it.

I can definitely see that happening if not for the kissing part, and if it does happen, it makes Cena look like an idiot because anyone watching Raw for the past nine months knows that AJ is crazy and might well react like this.

[KILLdozer]

I also read the shakin camera was another ripoff/jab/shot at TNA,cuz they love that thing lol

I don't see that at all. It felt to me like they were trying to imply that the Shield guys were holding the camera themselves to make it feel more underground/revolution-y, but there is no kayfabe reason why these guys couldn't have gotten a WWE cameraman to film this for them.

Yea,In a way I see what you mean like its "Edgy" and "Shifty" or so,for lack of better words...But yea no way at all someone whose job is to film couldnt have done it...WHY wouldn't they in the first place in kayfab? Cameramen film....Soooo.....?

WHAT?!? They have no way destroyed her...Sure she's not what she used to be maybe,maybe slight less geek,and "Every-woman" ,but I'd say they've done her wonderfully as far as C-Developement...I see they HAVE taken away your favorite attributes...But its for the better you ask me.

They have absolutely destroyed her. They have constantly shifted her from playing a crazy person to a very serious character way too quickly. Once Vince gave her the GM job she magically became not crazy anymore- or actually more like a different type of crazy, which they then decided to completely get rid of in favor of this romance angle with Cena and feud with Vickie. Constantly changing a character around and not being consistent with the character is what makes it hard for people to care about said characters. This isn't character development. Character development has the character changed and/or fleshed out by the events of the story. This is changing the character to fit the needs of the story at the time.

I am fully aware that underdog, every-woman. slightly naive, but so happy because she is living out her dream of being a WWE superstar pure babyface AJ is not a gimmick that could have lasted more than a few years of TV time, but I think that it had a whole lot more left mileage in it. It is the sort of character that is perfectly built for a Wrestlemania moment, and the sort of character that needs to finish its story (whether by succeeding or failing) before it can evolve from there into something else.

Maybe so,and I and I def can see your point of her past gimmick needing to play out someway...should have been crucial for he future as a character...The win or loss at WM would have made ALL the difference...I KNEW you were going to say the changes make it hard to invest,which is true if you cant keep up with whats going on. But...Just occurred to me...While not the best way to do it...Maybe they're going for "All kinds of crazy scatterbrain all over the place out there" dont think so though honestly...

Maybe that's half the idea of AJ and Cena...It is completely within AJ's character to be insecure/lovesick...I see Cena asking her to stay away from the ring leading to something big...Also did you catch the look Cena had when he hugged her? Like that man was thinkin of gettin away from her....Hmmm...He also seemed VERY blown away almost when she entered the locker room like nothin...Cena dumps her and she gets VERY VERY upset I see it.

I can definitely see that happening if not for the kissing part, and if it does happen, it makes Cena look like an idiot because anyone watching Raw for the past nine months knows that AJ is crazy and might well react like this.

Well...You know I had to say this...Cena IS an idiot,lol...actually,I read something a little bit about an article of the reason for the change in direction of the storyline...It's not really a spoiler cuz the articles been released,but still,just to be safe:

Hidden text.

The angle has changed from "Big romantic fling" to Cena trying to avoid a psycho like AJ and really keep his difference from her...Reason being:Respect out of Cena showing up Nikki B at the graduation......I....Guess...?

Not sure what to say,but part of me wants to think...You can't just change something so big right around like that over something so ,IDK,small almost that's non kayfab...Kinda not the best move to me.

[Big Red Machine]

Maybe that's half the idea of AJ and Cena...It is completely within AJ's character to be insecure/lovesick...I see Cena asking her to stay away from the ring leading to something big...Also did you catch the look Cena had when he hugged her? Like that man was thinkin of gettin away from her....Hmmm...He also seemed VERY blown away almost when she entered the locker room like nothin...Cena dumps her and she gets VERY VERY upset I see it.

I can definitely see that happening if not for the kissing part, and if it does happen, it makes Cena look like an idiot because anyone watching Raw for the past nine months knows that AJ is crazy and might well react like this.

Well...You know I had to say this...Cena IS an idiot,lol...actually,I read something a little bit about an article of the reason for the change in direction of the storyline...It's not really a spoiler cuz the articles been released,but still,just to be safe:

Hidden text.

The angle has changed from "Big romantic fling" to Cena trying to avoid a psycho like AJ and really keep his difference from her...Reason being:Respect out of Cena showing up Nikki B at the graduation......I....Guess...?

Not sure what to say,but part of me wants to think...You can't just change something so big right around like that over something so ,IDK,small almost that's non kayfab...Kinda not the best move to me.

I agree with you 100% on that.

[KILLdozer]

^ "Because it was on TMZ"

8-|

What does that even stand for? "The Media Zoo" ? sounds about right.