Welcome back to 10 Thoughts on Raw which is only…a day late or so? Sorry, it’s been a hectic week so far. So, last week’s Raw was almost unspeakably awful. Will things turn around in Mexico City? I really doubt it. Before we get to that, I’d just like to say something: Brodus Clay has a greater upside than either Mason Ryan or Mark Henry. Now I haven’t been blown away by his promos, and there’s a lot we need to see from him before we can definitively declare that he’s going to be the kind of great, dominant big man that can make an impact in WWE’s main-event, but I’ve watched a lot of his work in FCW and I like what I’ve seen. He’s a far better worker than the other two individuals I mentioned, that’s for sure. Will he be the next Vader? That’s like asking if a rookie running-back will be the next Barry Sanders or Jim Brown. I just think he’ll be good, is what I’m saying.
1. I like the idea of the WWE doing at least one or two episodes of Raw a year in Mexico. During AAA shows, when the camera pans over the crowd, you can see guys wearing John Cena or CM Punk shirts. There’s a definite interest in the WWE product, and I like the energy of the crowds in Mexico. One of these days I need to head down to Tijuana to see a lucha libre event, so long as I don’t get shot.
2. Well, good job assuaging my fear of Johnny Ace promos, WWE. Last week I mentioned that I didn’t want this guy on camera week in and week out, and the first show of the so-called Johnny Ace era we get an interminable six minute-plus promo. That doesn’t bode well at all, and neither does Ace bringing JR back a week after he fired him, which makes the whole thing look even more like a trumped up stunt to ratchet up Ace’s heat than it did before. Now I do like having JR back, but couldn’t they have thrown something out explaining why Ace would bring him back so suddenly? Did the company demand he do it? Speaking of ridiculous crap, we’ll be treated to a tag-match tonight between the teams of Cena/JR and Del Rio/Cole. Ugh.
3. The six-man tag match to open Raw was the usual six-man BS that attempts to further the storylines of multiple stars without spending any real time on any of them. That’s too bad, because lucha libre fans love trios matches. Hell, both CMLL and AAA have trios titles. It would have been neat if the WWE set up a one-time trios match using lucha libre rules to kind of spice things up. Name Orton and Rhodes the captains of their respective teams and throw them out there. What could have been…
4. Nice reception for CM Punk in Mexico. Have I mentioned how disappointed I am that Truth has started rapping again? Yeah, it doesn’t matter that he’s gone and made a heel remix, it’s still pretty bad. I also would have liked it if Punk was actually allowed to speak during this promo. The match itself was actually good, aside from the unnecessary interference by Johnny Ace. Really, what was the point of that? What was the point of the “immigration problemâ€? Ace and HHH already hate one another, and if the WWE just wanted Punk to catch a beating, Miz and Truth could have just jumped him backstage after the match.
5. King, you’re looking forward to HHH getting back in the ring again, “full forceâ€? He wrestled Punk at Night of Champions only a month ago. It’s not like we haven’t seen him in the ring in a long time.
6. I hate that the WWE is dragging out this whole Ziggler/Swagger thing. Forcing Dolph into a tag-team with Swagger does absolutely nothing for the guy. They should have just built the feud between Dolph and Jack, had the blow-off, and turned Dolph face. It’s too bad, ’cause I think Dolph was really on as far as mic-work goes tonight. I’ll admit, I also kind of liked Swagger’s rendition of the national anthem. That really got the crowd going.
7. Speaking of doing absolutely nothing for the guy, this “feud†with Mason Ryan sucks. So, both Swagger and Ziggler get squashed the night they’re announced as the number-one contenders for the tag-team championship. That makes them look legit. Good job, WWE.
8. Interesting response for del Rio in Mexico. Kind of a split crowd, when I was expecting him to get a pretty big cheer. Yeah, he’s been a heel ever since he entered the WWE, but at the same time he spent years as a técnico in AAA and CMLL and only turned rudo shortly before he went to FCW. It would have been kind of neat if he came out to the ring in the Dos Caras Jr. mask, to give a nod to his roots, but this is the WWE and they hate to acknowledge wrestling outside of their own confines.
9. When, oh when, is the WWE going to stop all this crap between King, JR, and Cole? It’s not interesting in any way. Fans were interested in seeing Cole get his comeuppance once upon a time, but that ship has long since sailed.
10. This match has not been very…what’s the word? Oh, good, that’s it. And Cena selling a punch from Michael Cole is hilarious. Are you kidding me? To take my mind off this match, I want to say how awesome this Mexico City crowd has been. No “WHAT?†chants, no long periods of uncomfortable silence; it’s been great. It might be the best WWE crowd since Chicago at MITB. I’ve got an idea: Summerslam or Wrestlemania in Mexico. One year, do a huge outdoor event at Estadio Azteca with more than 105,000 fans. Price those tickets right and I’m sure they could sell the place out. Plus, there are no time-zone issues to contend with like in Europe.
Bonus Thought
11. Why does the Cena/Del Rio match at Vengeance have to be a gimmick? The WWE just did a three-way Hell in a Cell match less than a month ago. It could have been worse, I suppose. It could have been an “I Quit†match.
