Kirbs rambles about the 3/3/14 Raw

[kirbs2002]

I've got a post-work beer (Stone IPA if you're curious) and am already slightly inebriated. Let's do this.

Oh noes! Not the dreaded "TV-PG"! Anything but that in the upper-left corner...

Paul Heyman promo -- B+

Coming out to Punk's music for cheap heat. You clever bastard... For how big a deal they're making this, I'm fully convinced this whole "walking away" is just a work. Summer of Punk III? Naw, wrong season. Spring of Punk... "CM Punk or we riot"? As I said elsewhere in this very forum, I'd call these smarky twits' bluff... Good twist in that message! I'm really feeling this... Oh look, it's Block- I mean BROCK Lesnar... Mark Henry wants a piece of Block-BROCK. Brock Lesnar...

The New Age Outlaws (c) vs. The Usos for the tag team title -- B

Billy Gunn and Road Dogg really do look their age... Is that a war dance by the Usos?... Come on Jay, these guys are old enough to be your dad... Good hot tag to pick up the pace... "Famous-er?" Is that what they're calling the Fame-ass-er now?... I think it's always beautiful to see the babyfaces' joy when they finally get the gold. Brings a genuine well-meaning smile to my cynical demeanor.

Big E vs. Cesaro -- D

Swagger, when you go to take a cheap shot, you should do it while the guy is down, not after he'd regrouped and gotten up... Cesaro is pissed, and he should be. What the hell?... Damn. I feel cheated from this match, especially after last week... I think I see Cesaro vs. Swagger at WM 30...

The Shield vs. The Wyatts -- B

Good start by Rollins... What? I didn't even see what killed Rollins' momentum. Maybe I shouldn't watch drunk... Oh god, bad teamwork by Shield... Ambrose should learn some self-control... What the? Well, goodbye Shield... Or not? What a turnaround!... It's a shame. I was really liking The Shield. Here's hoping I'm wrong.

Fandango & Summer Rae vs. Santino Marella & Emma -- D

"This is ridiculous". JBL says that like there's a WWE mixed-tag match that wasn't... The clumsiness by Emma is mildly amusing, I'll give her that... The tag switching made me chuckle... I really wish the women would work with more fluidity. I really do...

Sheamus vs. Christian -- B+

Another rematch from last week, and just like last week, I popped for Sheamus ... Starting with the brawling early... "The slap only makes him angry and doesn't faze him, so I'll just do it again." Flawless logic by Christian... Christian cowers behind the announcers. I really shouldn't have laughed at that... I remember when people used to say Sheamus wasn't a good worker... Something tells me this isn't the end for these two...

Brie & Nikki Bella vs. Alicia Fox & Aksana -- B-

So far this isn't half-bad... Lawler won't guest-star on Total Divas because they're worried about the potential lawsuits... They should work to cut down on the "cat fight" stuff... The Bellas actually look pretty good this match... Seemed pretty short, but quite enjoyable all things considered

Daniel Bryan segment -- A-

Being a classical music and heavy metal fan, Bryan's entrance theme makes me smile... Putting out the challenge to the boss... The boss answers... Sounds like Batista gets more heat than Hunter. Odd... Well then, disregard that. Biggest heat of the night... Hunter turns down the WM match. I am Jack's total lack of surprise... I'm a bit surprised that Hunter hasn't given one aside glance during these remarks... Heels getting this much heat makes me happy. Very condescending talk by Hunter and Steph, like parents lecturing the bad child... Steph in Hunter's trunks? Ew :ymsick: Hunter in Steph's clothes is damn funny, though

Alberto Del Rio vs Dolph Ziggler -- D

A Need for Speed movie... What the? It's over already? So much wasted potential...

Big E vs. Jack Swagger -- N/A

This was obviously a segment, so rating this wouldn't be fair... Now I really want to see these two go at Mania... I don't know if I should be laughing... I really don't trust Cesaro's smile at Swagger

John Cena segment -- B

I think this is as good a time as ever for me to point out my extreme personal hatred for the smarky jag-offs in Chicago. I say now, as I always have, that Cena hate is some of the stupidest crap I've seen... I would say they're teasing a Cena heel turn, but people have been saying that for, what, 6 years now?... Bray Wyatt gives me chills. That's powerful...

How much does this guy weigh? Aleksander Rusev is big, but can he move?

Batista vs. Daniel Bryan --

I'm calling it now. Orton interference for the finish... "Daniel Bryan couldn't work in a drive through with that hair." Don't be so sure of that, the guy who served my dinner today might prove you wrong, but that's neither here nor there... I think we can officially call Batista a heel by now. No love from anywhere... Batista's really selling this. Give the big guy props... Good lord, this angle between the Authority and Bryan has my blood boiling. I LOVE IT!!! ... It's been quite a while since an angle made me this angry at the heels. Great work.

All things considered, this show deserves an A. I wasn't disappointed.

[Big Red Machine]

Good start by Rollins... What? I didn't even see what killed Rollins' momentum.

One of the Wyatts shoved Ambrose into the rope while Rollins was on the top.

[Big Red Machine]

Finally someone else who isn't so cynical about things! Cero's already down on Mania. Glad to see you're enjoying the build.

[cero2k]

Finally someone else who isn't so cynical about things! Cero's already down on Mania. Glad to see you're enjoying the build.

still waiting for the turn around.

but Lockdown is gonna be the BOMB!!!

all jokes aside, it's not necessarily the build that i don't like, it's the end point, i'm not interested in any match yet and if i have nothing to look forward too, i find it hard to get interested in the build up. having said that, some build up, like shield's (even if it's becoming the same thing as real americans) is nicely written

[Big Red Machine]

Finally someone else who isn't so cynical about things! Cero's already down on Mania. Glad to see you're enjoying the build.

but Lockdown is gonna be the BOMB!!!

Really? A Joe vs. Magnus match where the babyface authority figure decided to give Joe a major advantage by using special "Joe Rules," YET ANOTHER Madison vs. Gail match (and unlike Sheamus vs. Christian, they usually don't put on great matches), Kurt Angle vs. a chump, and a Lethal Lockdown match that will involve Bro-Mans.
I haven't seen Tiger Uno or Sanada so I don't know how good they are, but Muta is old and the coolness of seeing him has worn off. Bad Influence and Sabin will make sure that the match is at least good and I'm sure that Sanada must be good or else he wouldn't be a top guy in a Japanese promotion, but I don't know what to expect from the match.
I haven't seen enough from Shaw to have any confidence in his match with Anderson, either, and while Gunner vs. Storm has been a good feud so far, I don't have that much faith in Gunner to put on a good match, and I really wanted to see Storm as the babyface, so my heart isn't quite in that one.

Compare that to Wresltemania XXX:
Sheamus vs. Christian- which I've seen a million times, but it is always very good
Swagger vs. Cesaro- should be great
The Shield break-up- should be great
Cena vs. Bray- depends on how it is booked, it could either be great or it could be another "Cena wins LOL U MAD?"
Dragon vs. Hunter- should be awesome
Orton vs. Dave vs. ? (almost certainly Bryan, but maybe Punk)- either way, the crowd reaction should be great, and if they do put Dragon over for the title, it will be an amazing moment for me
and
LESNAR VS. TAKER- this is a f*cking dream match for me now that both guys have a more MMA-style.

Almost all of the matches on Mania look like they will deliver and will have solid angles behind them. For Lockdown? Not even close.

[Bob-O]

Compare that to Wresltemania XXX:
Sheamus vs. Christian- which I've seen a million times, but it is always very good
Swagger vs. Cesaro- should be great
The Shield break-up- should be great
Cena vs. Bray- depends on how it is booked, it could either be great or it could be another "Cena wins LOL U MAD?"
Dragon vs. Hunter- should be awesome
Orton vs. Dave vs. ? (almost certainly Bryan, but maybe Punk)- either way, the crowd reaction should be great, and if they do put Dragon over for the title, it will be an amazing moment for me
and
LESNAR VS. TAKER- this is a f*cking dream match for me now that both guys have a more MMA-style.

There's NO WAY they can put Sheamus vs Christian on the card after putting it on Raw/Smackdown this many times with clean finishes. I'm thinking it'll evolve into the 12-man tag or whatever they plan on doing to get the midcard the payday without MITB.

Swagger/Cesaro will draw the least amount of attention, but be the one that steals the show.

I hate the idea of a Shield breakup... but everything that happens before Reigns wins will be rad. No doubt.

Cena/Bray will be better than everyone expects. Bray is good. Why he was handed the golden ticket I'll never know, but if they don't screw up the build should keep people talking and the match will deliver.

Bryan/HHH - I'd prefer HBK, but right now this is where the heat's at. It's gonna be good.

Orton/Batista/??? - I forgot they were even still doing this after Monday's show. I still say ??? is Punk, the no-show in Chicago was a swerve, he's coming back. HE'S COMING BACK... @-)

Lesnar/Taker - This WAS a dream match in 2003. Today though? It's neat, but it's not relevant, so it's hard to invest in it. These guys haven't been around, and they're not going to be around afterward, along with Lesnar having no chance of going over just takes the luster away. He could F5 Mark Henry off a scaffold through 5 tables or tear the ring apart Nexus style single handedly... the announcers can put over the doubt all they want... they will not convince me that Lesnar has a chance. But that said, it'll be a spectacle and I'm always up for those. I really hope they let Lesnar go for the Shooting Star...

[kirbs2002]

There's NO WAY they can put Sheamus vs Christian on the card after putting it on Raw/Smackdown this many times with clean finishes. I'm thinking it'll evolve into the 12-man tag or whatever they plan on doing to get the midcard the payday without MITB.

I could see one last one at Mania. It would probably be a Street Fight, since Sheamus has been winning with a last-second counter.

Swagger/Cesaro will draw the least amount of attention, but be the one that steals the show.

Word. The lack of attention would be because of all the other awesome stuff going on.

I hate the idea of a Shield breakup... but everything that happens before Reigns wins will be rad. No doubt.

I was really liking the Shield too...

Cena/Bray will be better than everyone expects. Bray is good. Why he was handed the golden ticket I'll never know, but if they don't screw up the build should keep people talking and the match will deliver.

Just about every Cena Mania match tends to be better than everyone expects. I think the reason why Bray's stock is going up is shown in how well he's been performing these last couple weeks.

Bryan/HHH - I'd prefer HBK, but right now this is where the heat's at. It's gonna be good.

Why HBK? That seems really out of left field...

Orton/Batista/??? - I forgot they were even still doing this after Monday's show. I still say ??? is Punk, the no-show in Chicago was a swerve, he's coming back. HE'S COMING BACK... @-)

Word!

Lesnar/Taker - This WAS a dream match in 2003. Today though? It's neat, but it's not relevant, so it's hard to invest in it. These guys haven't been around, and they're not going to be around afterward, along with Lesnar having no chance of going over just takes the luster away. He could F5 Mark Henry off a scaffold through 5 tables or tear the ring apart Nexus style single handedly... the announcers can put over the doubt all they want... they will not convince me that Lesnar has a chance. But that said, it'll be a spectacle and I'm always up for those. I really hope they let Lesnar go for the Shooting Star...

It's still a dream match. I'll give you that Block--BROCK doesn't have a chance and maybe they should have picked someone up-and-coming, but I'll still be glued to my screen for this. And, honestly, I'd rather have just one GREAT match a year from Taker (and yes, he can still put on a great match despite age catching up) than for him to drag ass through an entire year, be gassed by Mania, and put out a stinker.

[Big Red Machine]

Bryan/HHH - I'd prefer HBK, but right now this is where the heat's at. It's gonna be good.

Why HBK? That seems really out of left field...

HBK screwed Dragon out of the title at Hell in a Cell, then had a fantastic segment the night afterwards. Plus the fact that he trained Dragon. It was never going to happen though. HBK has constantly said he is never wrestling again.

[kirbs2002]

HBK screwed Dragon out of the title at Hell in a Cell, then had a fantastic segment the night afterwards. Plus the fact that he trained Dragon. It was never going to happen though. HBK has constantly said he is never wrestling again.

Even then, Hunter vs Bryan still makes more sense because Hunter was behind it all and I'm fairly sure Hunter would work a better match at this point than Shawn.

[Big Red Machine]

HBK screwed Dragon out of the title at Hell in a Cell, then had a fantastic segment the night afterwards. Plus the fact that he trained Dragon. It was never going to happen though. HBK has constantly said he is never wrestling again.

Even then, Hunter vs Bryan still makes more sense because Hunter was behind it all and I'm fairly sure Hunter would work a better match at this point than Shawn.

Hunter wasn't quite behind it. Shawn was being objective until he turned around and saw Dragon hit Hunter with the running knee, not realizing that Hunter had hit Dragon first.

[cero2k]

Really? A Joe vs. Magnus match where the babyface authority figure decided to give Joe a major advantage by using special "Joe Rules,"

joe and magnus, two great talents, inside a cage. should be good. and joe rules are not really a major advantage, it's almost like a normal match for both

YET ANOTHER Madison vs. Gail match (and unlike Sheamus vs. Christian, they usually don't put on great matches),

unline sheamus and christian, i'm entertained by madison and gail, now inside a steel cage, it has my attention, at least it'll be better than AJ vs Naomi

Kurt Angle vs. a chump,

Angle vs one of the most entertaining talents out there!

and a Lethal Lockdown match that will involve Bro-Mans.

a lethal lockdown with roode, the wolves, austin aries, mvp, and again, a great entertaining team bromans

I haven't seen Tiger Uno or Sanada so I don't know how good they are, but Muta is old and the coolness of seeing him has worn off. Bad Influence and Sabin will make sure that the match is at least good and I'm sure that Sanada must be good or else he wouldn't be a top guy in a Japanese promotion, but I don't know what to expect from the match.

sabin, xtreme tiger, sanada, daniels, kaz, and great fucking muta. =p~

I haven't seen enough from Shaw to have any confidence in his match with Anderson, either, and while Gunner vs. Storm has been a good feud so far, I don't have that much faith in Gunner to put on a good match, and I really wanted to see Storm as the babyface, so my heart isn't quite in that one.
[/quote]
this may be the match i'm least interested in, and even then i'm liking Shaw a lot, i definitely wanna see more of him

[Big Red Machine]

Really? A Joe vs. Magnus match where the babyface authority figure decided to give Joe a major advantage by using special "Joe Rules,"

joe and magnus, two great talents, inside a cage. should be good. and joe rules are not really a major advantage, it's almost like a normal match for both

1. MVP put it over as such.
2. Then it makes no sense to use those rules within the context of the story.

Kurt Angle vs. a chump,

Angle vs one of the most entertaining talents out there!

I do not get what people see in him. he is decent, but there are tons of better talents out there, both in the ring and on the mic. Even some on TNA's roster.

and a Lethal Lockdown match that will involve Bro-Mans.

a lethal lockdown with roode, the wolves, austin aries, mvp, and again, a great entertaining team bromans

1. They are entertaining comedy guys. Not anyone I want to see in a big match.
2. Most of those guys who I actually want to see are best when they have space to work with. The Wolves aren't going to be able to be there awesome selves cramped up in a cage with six other guys.
3. War Games matches, for me, only work when it feels like an epic battle that has been building for a long time. This feud has been hastily thrown together and at best results in... what? The dissolution of a pathetically bad heel stable? MVP already seems to be overruling Dixie in everything, so him winning doesn't really even change much.

[badnewzxl]

I actually don't think the Real Americans will break up; I think they'll win the tag titles at Mania. I think Coulter's gonna hold them together, show them their worth as a duo, THEN they break up. I think Cesaro will be a double champ and Swagger'll be jealous.

[cero2k]

I actually don't think the Real Americans will break up; I think they'll win the tag titles at Mania. I think Coulter's gonna hold them together, show them their worth as a duo, THEN they break up. I think Cesaro will be a double champ and Swagger'll be jealous.

this. i fear a tons of funk situation. Cesaro is big enough and swagger kinda riding his wave at this point, that you would get at most two months of feud and then swagger would completely get lost in the shuffle, and since Cesaro would go face, colter would get dragged down with Swagger. now is sami zayn debuts as a canadian/arabian/mexican/iranian defector, maybe we could work something out