BRM Reviews the 8/8/2011 Raw

[Big Red Machine]

TRIPLE H PROMO- good. I really liked how they didn’t have the confrontation between Cena and Triple H over the live mic. That made it feel much less scripted to me. Cole and JR had some great comments about the Special Guest Ref stip, during the following match.

JOHN CENA vs. JACK SWAGGER- 3.5/10. Nothing was botched, but this match was just WAY TOO SHORT for the talent involved.

DEL RIO PROMO- good.

R-TRUTH PROMO- dumb.

MIZ JUMPS REY- good stuff

THE MIZ vs. KOFI KINGSTON- 5.75/10

PUNK PROMO- Great

CM PUNK vs. ALBERTO DEL RIO (w/Ricardo Rodriguez)- 6/10. Too short

BETH PHOENIX vs. EVE TORRES- 3.25/10. Good squash, but it was clear that Beth had to slow down to work at Eve’s rate. Good post-match promo by Beth, I liked Kelly needing to not only hit Beth from behind, but also needing to use a shot with the title belt to take her out.

ALEX RILEY vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER (w/Vickie Guerrero)- No Rating. Very good segment.

R-TRUTH vs. JOHN MORRISON-6/10. Short, but a good story. Really made you feel sorry for JoMo… but why isn’t this on Summer Slam?

CHRISTIAN PROMO- Good hype.

CLOSING SEGMENT- F*CKING SPECTACULAR! (aside from Cena breaking kayfabe. That annoyed me a bit. Punk’s breach of kayfabe was less egregious). Loved the way that they mentioned the cliché in the beginning, and perfectly stopped just short of it (there was no physical violence between Cena and Punk).

Overall, Raw was pretty good, but, aside from the closing segment, entirely skippable.

[Serujuunin]

I totally agree with everything. I also definitely thought Morrison and Truth were fighting at Summerslam (and was super confused when I found out they weren't). They could have done way more with this feud than they have; it's quite disappointing really.

Also, I quite enjoyed the ending too. I actually laughed when Cena mentioned the "Five Moves of Doom" (even though I had to explain it to my mum, but it made her laugh too). But the rest of it was... anticlimactic.

[Rabid619]

When i heard Cena say heel, of course my first thought was: BRM is gonna be pissed.... :p

[Big Red Machine]

When i heard Cena say heel, of course my first thought was: BRM is kinda be pissed.... :p

I mean... what he said does make 100% sense in a kayfabe context... it is just that he would have been using a pretty-much archaic word (where did you think the term came from?)

[kiel297]

I absolutely loved Miz jumping Rey. I can't remember the last time I saw an entrance ambush that didn't involve the superstar getting halfway down the ramp first. The fact that he jumped Rey in the middle of his pyro bit made it a bit more believable too. Then comes the battering. I loved it!

[badnewzxl]

I LOVED the R-Truth interview; why ARE there ten hot dogs in a pack but eight buns in a pack? :-\

But that match with Truth & Morrison SHOULD be at SS (aren't there only a handful of matches scheduled thus far?)

The segment at the end was meh; it accomplished nothing, imo. What I was expecting was some sort of stand off where Punk & Cena questioned HHH more about naming himself special guest ref. Instead, we got a weak tease and NO violence! I was expecting them to at least have HHH show that he COULD control Cena & Punk. Not only that, but I believe using Johnny Ace as the scapegoat for all the heat is a big mistake; let Cena, Punk, and HHH get the heat. Right now, the three are equally adored by the fans; everything unpopular that goes down gets blamed on Laurinitus....

[Rabid619]

The segment at the end was meh; it accomplished nothing, imo. What I was expecting was some sort of stand off where Punk & Cena questioned HHH more about naming himself special guest ref. Instead, we got a weak tease and NO violence! I was expecting them to at least have HHH show that he COULD control Cena & Punk. Not only that, but I believe using Johnny Ace as the scapegoat for all the heat is a big mistake; let Cena, Punk, and HHH get the heat. Right now, the three are equally adored by the fans; everything unpopular that goes down gets blamed on Laurinitus....

It seems as though they're trying to make Punk to be more like Austin. Not a clean cut babyface but someone the crowd gets behind. It wouldn't surprise me if they have Laurinitus pop up as the GM if they're going to continue that. But theres also a rumor that Laurinitus won't be on TV because Vince doesn't think he can cut a good enough promo. TBH, i think they have the heat on Laurinitus so much these days to try to appeal to the IWC who know about the stuff he's done in recent years backstage. They're trying to build off on the dislike the IWC has at him for letting people go even if it's not fully his fault like with Jericho. Jericho wanted time off which he's getting and there really isn't a way to get a guy to come back when he just wants to rest and go touring with his band.