10 Thoughts on WWE Monday Night Raw 07.04.11 (Cena, Punk, Vince McMahon)

Reviews, Shows, Top Story, TV Shows

Welcome back to 10 Thoughts on Raw! Happy 4th of July to everyone in the U.S. and…happy Monday to everyone else. I’ll keep things short this week since it is a holiday, but check out this weeks Caught in the Ropes, as well as Steven Gepp’s latest View From Down Here article where he discusses recent turns in the WWE. I have to go, though; it seems that my television has come down with a bad case of flatulence. Oh, wait…that’s just Nickelback.

1. The crowd is really getting behind CM Punk; there’s even a few “CM Punk” chants. I do like that they’re putting Cena behind Punk; it does bolster the opinion of some that Punk’s promo last week was his Austin 3:16 moment. Oh, wait, we’re allowed to remember the Daniel Bryan firing? I usually hate Cena promos because the character is stale, and I think Cena himself is tired of the act and wants to do something new. But I’ve been liking this so far; it’s kind of a throw-back to the Cena character of old before the PG-era began.

2. I’m not going to talk about the Diva’s match. I’ve already said my piece on the current Divas in my Caught in the Ropes columns, and unless something changes, there’s nothing else to say. I do have to mention that Eve Torres’ outfit does look like something Wonder Woman would wear.

3. “Silent Rage?” Dude, that is lame. I’m sorry Big Andy, but that is absolutely lame. At least I have a R-Truth and Alberto del Rio promo to get that awful taste out of my mouth. I haven’t seen enough of Andy to tell how he’s going to work out, but I kind of take issue with using Dusty Rhodes and Ricky Steamboat to shill for this guy. I don’t think he’s done enough to earn that kind of rub from two legends.

4. Am I the only one that is tired of Santino and Kozlov? They’re a kooky Italian and a goofy Russian; that’s Lawler level comedy there. And did they use a variation of the Sheepherder’s battering ram? There’s really not much to say about this; it’s not worth my time.

5. Zack Ryder! Awesome, I…that’s it? I guess any attention is better than no attention at all but is this a sign that the ‘E might start to use the guy more? Or is this just me reading too much into things? He’s already popular online, WWE, just give the guy a damn shot!

6. What is the point of continuing this Miz/A-Ry feud? Oh, that’s right, creative can’t think of anything better to do with them. A-Ry already won at Capital Punishment, there’s nothing else for these two to do together. Ah damn, SERGEANT SLAUGHTER! “You’re parents made a mistake when they didn’t use birth control.” Good line, Sarge, you still got it.

7. I have to question the ‘E putting Mysterio in the MITB match considering his long history of knee problems. It’s not like the ‘E can risk having one of their few popular faces leaving for an extended period of time due to injury. Guess we’ll see what happens…

8. I like the Alberto del Rio push; I think he’s the next best option after Punk leaves for top heel. I enjoy what Truth has been doing lately, but for now, I see him as more of a upper-mid card guy.

9. I have to wonder where the ‘E is going with the A-Ry/Miz feud. I know I mentioned this earlier, but having Riley bury Miz isn’t doing much for either one of them. Where does A-Ry go after this? A U.S. title run? Does the ‘E switch him over to Smackdown? Keeping these two in this feud for too long will backfire on the ‘E. Maybe they’re heading for a Jericho-esque angle for the Miz where he becomes increasingly frustrated with his losing streak. I don’t know.

10. I haven’t read the spoilers for this episode of Raw, so I’ll be interested in seeing what happens here. It’s sad that it’s taken the ‘E this long to find a great angle for Punk; he’s been the best man in their company for a while. I think if the ‘E isn’t going to turn Cena heel, then making him more confrontational with the WWE brass instead of being the perfect company man is at least better than what we have been getting.

If it wasn’t for that last promo, I would say this episode was a bust. And while I haven’t been big on Cena over the last couple of years, this was one of the best promos he’s cut in a while. Punk is reinstated, which we all saw coming, for the most part. We’ll see how this plays out; see you next week.

Patrick Spohr learned everything he needed to know about the English language from the Jean-Claude Van Damme classic "Cyborg", including how to artfully describe Jean-Claude being crucified. Armed with this knowledge, Patrick has become a freelance writer of fiction and not-quite-fiction, or non-fiction to the layman.