Hey! It’s 10 Thoughts on Raw again, where we talk about…Raw…and junk. So, Summerslam is behind us and I was, to be frank, underwhelmed. There were a few good matches, and I think the main-event was handled well enough, but there were some really bizarre booking decisions that were irksome, to say the least. You can read more about my thoughts on the big show in this week’s Caught in the Ropes, and you can also check out what will assuredly be a deluge of thoughts on the big event here at Pulse Wrestling throughout the week.
1. Well, Alberto del Rio is finally champion. Not that he’s been waiting that long, it’s just that this seemed inevitable ever since he came to the company and made his presence known. I also like it since it makes the WWE Heavyweight Championship scene more complex and wide open that it has been for a while.
2. Hmm, I guess HHH is sticking with the face authority figure role for now…or not. Kevin Nash showing up is a nice touch, so long as he and HHH stick to yackin’ and don’t get in the ring again. And here come’s Alberto, to a mixed reaction from my hometown San Diego crowd. I would have gone to this show, but stuff came up and I couldn’t make it work. I never noticed this before, but Alberto says “guys†a lot. I mean, a lot. That aside, Alberto’s promo tonight had some very strong face overtones to it, at least at first, which is kind of weird.
3. Okay…John Morrison’s promos haven’t managed to get much better. The falls-count-anywhere style match does highlight his strengths as a wrestler, which will make this more than the usual brawl. I wonder how the WWE is planning on using the guy now; he’s been pushed and dropped so often it’s hard to tell. His continuing relationship with Melina, which has been causing some problems for Morrison, has to be a distraction for him as well. Man, that suplex into the chair followed by the running knee was pretty awesome. Good first match for this show.
4. There’s a good number of Miz fans in the Sports Arena tonight. What are the odds that we’ll see a Miz face turn at some point? Wait, Jared from Subway is here? Why? We got that moron from Keystone Light, and now this. Fantastic. I liked the “Subway sucks!†chants though; that was the only good part of this. I hate it when they turn their talent into shills for outside advertisers like that.
5. I find it funny that Kelly Kelly claims that she dedicated her Summerslam title defense for women everywhere. I’m sorry, Beth Phoenix winning the title back would have struck a real blow for female wrestling fans, or at least for women tired of crappy Divas matches, which I imagine is every woman everywhere. Come on, WWE, don’t have Beth and Natalya saunter out with nothing to say; give them the mic for a minute and let them further this storyline.
6. Lukewarm reception for Diesel. I wonder if that’s due to his actions at Summerslam or his mediocre run in TNA. Probably a combination of both, really. Fans really need to knock it off with the “What?!†chants; they’re just obnoxious, and I probably would have ended up dumping a beer on the idiot in front of me screaming “What?!†if I was in the arena tonight. Good pop for Punk! Please take a jab at Nash’s record at WCW, Punk. The text message bit was gold; oh so very good. I’m split, however; I don’t think Nash should get into the ring with Punk, but this might be a good feud for Punk. We’ll see where this goes.
7. Looks like they’re setting up Johnny Ace as the management heel. Is that a good thing? I certainly don’t want to hear the guy on the mic week in and week out, so I’m gonna say no. If they keep him off TV most weeks, I guess I could deal with it. But, as I’ve mentioned many times before, if they spend too much time on backstage politicking, it’s going to turn into TNA, just with better production values. Quick aside: I’ve enjoyed Dolph’s job on commentary tonight; dude was funny.
8. That was an ugly botch at the end of the Swagger/A-Ry match. I thought Swagger was supposed to be the next coming of Kurt Angle, but if he can’t even pull of a gut-wrench suplex on A-Ry without it looking awkward, then how long can he last? Well, a pairing with Vickie might help the guy just like it helped Dolph, and that would allow Dolph to move on to something else.
9. Wow…I thought the team of Otunga and McGillicutty was lame before, but they’ve managed to get worse. Bad entrance theme aside, now they’re coming out to the ring sporting a ludicrous approximation of “street wearâ€. When Jerry Lawler is making fun of you on commentary and JR is noting the lack of competition you’re facing, you’re doing something wrong. Okay, the WWE is doing something wrong as well by letting their tag-team division stagnate as long as it has, but these two aren’t the kind of guys who can revitalize the tag-team scene. Bourne and Kofi would be a better choice as champions, though it looked like Bourne overshot the Air Bourne a bit.
10. Good match between Alberto and Mysterio; I love Alberto’s top-rope enziguri. Alberto also looked good here, not resorting to shenanigans in order to pick up the win. Oh, God; Cena, why are you here, and why are you taking off your shirt? Wait, why is Cena burying Alberto here for cashing in the MITB contract? Isn’t that the point of the damn thing? Well folks, here we are: John Cena buried an entire PPV.
Not a bad show, by all accounts. There were a few good matches and the intrigue was plentiful, setting up the new feuds that’ll take Raw into Night of Champions. I worry about the McMahon-Helmsley regime rearing its ugly head once again, and I don’t want Johnny Ace’s five-packs-a-day voice warbling out of my TV every single Monday. But as far as the big after-PPV Raws go, this one was pretty good. See you next week.
