10 Thoughts on Raw. Back. Stuff will happen. Thoughts. Anyway, I’d like to thank everyone who commented on last week’s column; it’s always nice when readers get involved, whether they’re in agreement or wishing the heat-death of the universe upon me. So, the WWE is promising to answer some questions this week…maybe…if they feel like it. It’s a pivotal week, since this is when the big picture starts becoming clear, and we can see what road the WWE is going to be heading down going into Night of Champions and beyond.
Before we get to the thoughts, I’d like to expound upon one of my thoughts last week, specifically the one about Jack Swagger botching his gut-wrench powerbomb on Alex Riley. I’m with Joe Violet on this one. I can see how AFN and others came to their conclusion, but Swagger should have set him down, landed a few shots to the back, and sold Riley blocking the move. Then he should have gone for the powerbomb again instead of just trying to muscle through it. It looks awkward because, you know, it is awkward.
With that behind us, let’s get to it!
1. Alberto to start off the show; there are worse ways this can start. Rey’s injury is bad news for the WWE, but not all that shocking. Guy’s career is winding down, and this kind of thing is going to happen more and more. Sounds like he’ll be gone for about six months, but I have to wonder if Rey is going to start thinking about his retirement. Fantastic, Cena couldn’t give Alberto five minutes without coming down to the ring and interrupting him. Why the hell are they burying Alberto like this? I kind of hope Alberto retains the title at Night of Champions, just because it’ll make the main-event scene more interesting.
2. Fairly anti-Cena crowd this week. Not to say that the usual Cena fans aren’t in attendance, but the pro-Punk contingent is louder tonight. I like that Punk is being the voice of reason when it comes to the MITB contract, which is important, since a name talent really needs to be sticking up for the gimmick or else it’ll lose all credibility. Punk is running circles around everyone on the mic so far, but the whole back-and-forth with clauses and contracts is unnecessary. And HHH has to stick his big nose in this whole mess as well. Did Hunter just call himself the “CEOO†of the WWE?
3. Here goes Cole, interrupting JR during his play-by-play. Aside from Cole’s incompetence, it’s been an okay match between Alberto and Morrison, if a little slow. Lots of rest-holds, though Morrison’s moonsault to the outside was nice. The action has really picked up in the latter stages of this match, however, with John’s hurricanrana looking great. Good first match of the night, though following up that display with a Divas match that involves neither Beth nor Natalya can kill the momentum early.
4. Okay, what good did Beth and Natalya’s promo serve? How did it further anything? I thought those two were supposed to clue us in on what their plans are this week. One note about the match: it’s too bad I couldn’t hear what the crowd was chanting what with all the unintelligible screeching going on between Nikki and Eve. Whatever it was, it didn’t sound positive.
5. Whoa, what the hell is Vickie wearing this week? It looks like she bought a bandanna at a head-shop and just wrapped it around her chest. Looks like the split between Vickie and Dolph will be finalized soon…I hope. We all see where this is heading, WWE, you don’t need to drag this out longer than necessary.
6. Hunter doesn’t do “corporate speak†very well; I’m just gonna put that out there. I’ll also say that Nash still feels awkward on the mic; I don’t know if the crowd is getting to him. But this Edmonton audience has been pretty hot for this so far, and that’s certainly a good sign for Punk and the WWE. Hey, Punk vs. Austin sign in the crowd. I agree, random guy, but Austin is probably never going to step into the ring again. Too bad. Well, Punk keeps getting over, but we didn’t get our answers, at least so far. All fingers point to Stephanie, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Hunter makes a surprise full-on heel turn and reveals that he was lying all along.
7. JR described McGillicutty’s dropkick as “perfectâ€. A reference to his father, Mr. Perfect? Probably. We have new tag champs! Finally. Otunga and McGillicutty, I hope you enjoyed your stay in the WWE, ’cause I don’t think you guys are long for this company. I don’t like the idea of anyone losing their job in this economy, but they haven’t impressed anyone. The writing is on the wall, really. With the degree to which King and JR are hyping the new champs, how long till we see the Young Bucks and/or the Kings of Wrestling? Within a month or two is my guess.
8. Wait, what? Kevin Nash in a car accident? Well, that’s what I managed to cull from Johnny Ace’s strangled croaking. I could be totally wrong. What are the odds that this factors into some kind of shenanigans at the end of the night? 100% is my guess.
9. Miz and Truth’s promo has been excellent. They’re getting the crowd fired up; I could see these two making a good heel team for quite a while. Tons of intensity from both of these guys which is great to see, though I could have done without the riff on “What’s Up?†at the end of the promo. Hopefully Truth won’t start using that as his theme.
10. Was that a “Who Farted?†sign? Way to go high-brow, Edmonton. And here’s King, crapping all over CM Punk, the hottest guy in the company right now. I can’t stand the fact that not only do we have a three-man broadcast team, but it’s composed of one unwavering heel and one unwavering face, and then the neutral play-by-play guy. We can’t go a week now without some existing or potential main-event talent getting buried by someone on commentary. Okay, okay, I’m losing focus here. This has been another good continuation of the Punk/Cena feud, especially since the Edmonton crowd has been hot for this match. Ah, here are the shenanigans. Well…that’s crap. I expect to see this match overturned next week.
So, nothing was really answered, except that Johnny Ace is a weasel, which we already knew. Stephanie didn’t make her presence known. Cena is the number-one contender, but, as I mentioned, I think that will be overturned and we’ll end up with a three-way dance come Night of Champions. Damn, things are starting to get convoluted. While I do believe that the feud with Nash is helping Punk, Nash is still awkward on the mic and his usefulness will be short-lived. Well, I guess we’ll get answers next week. Who am I kidding, the WWE will probably only compound the mysteries on the next Raw. Are we headed to storyline singularity, the realm of Katie Vick and Mae Young giving birth to a hand? Time will tell.
