1. Based on that pop, I don’t know if anyone is more excited that Raw is in South Carolina tonight than Randy Orton.
2. Please don’t tell me that WWE is turning 3MB babyfaces… One cheesy gimmick is fine (Fandango) but I don’t think I can keep watching WWE if 3MB are going to be an established act every week.
3. I don’t think there’s a single member of the “WWE Universe” that thinks that the Brock Lesnar/Triple H should continue. Their matches aren’t very good, WrestleMania was completely underwhelming and the good guy won! Why the hell should he face the villain he already defeated? I really can’t believe this is the best use of Lesnar since The Rock is injured. There’s a locker room full of untapped talent that has never crossed paths with Lesnar that would benefit immensely from even only a month-long feud with a star like Lesnar. This is the epitome of lazy booking & it’s becoming more and more prevalent every week.
4. What a shock. News comes out that Vince McMahon doesn’t like Antonio Cesaro. Cesaro starts yodeling. Loses title to perennial mid-carder Kofi Kingston.
5. Decent Raw debut promo from Dolph Ziggler as World Heavyweight Champion but SmackDown was better. Luckily we all know what he’s capable of both in the ring and on the mic so this wasn’t as important as it would have been for someone who hasn’t been on TV every week for the last 3 years or so.
6. Despite the fact that it was a pre-taped promo, I really liked Ryback here. His reasoning for turning against Cena made perfect sense in two ways. It gave John Cena fans a reason to now boo Ryback and it gave Cena haters even more reasons to root for Ryback in this feud. It obviously didn’t have the same impact a live promo or another John Cena attack would have but it established continuity for Ryback’s character and gave him a “heel turn back story”. It’s not something WWE does often so when they do, it really stands out as something different and impactful.
7. Yup that sucked. WWE & Fandango are DAMN lucky that they’re in London next week or Fandango might be headed for a long ride off of a short cliff.
8. Alright, I understand the idea of going with a triple threat for the World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules but how is it good business to job out your brand new World Champion only a week after he won the title to a guy who’s lost twice in one week? I know Ziggler looked strong on SmackDown but how many people really watch both shows? For him to be jobbed out on Raw pushes the perception that Ziggler is undeserving of the championship to the WWE’s core audience.
9. An ok CM Punk segment that’s obviously been done before. But honestly, what was Punk supposed to do next? John Cena has Ryback. Sheamus is facing Mark Henry. Brock Lesnar and Triple H are continuing. There’s absolutely nothing (at least nothing interesting) for Punk to do. This is the perfect time for him to take a break and then come back when he & his character are fresh. This promo reminded of the infamous “I lost my smile” promo from Shawn Michaels except it was done by heel and it was a work.
10. While throwing The Shield into the last segment was a strong touch for them as a group, the John Cena/Ryback segment as a whole did absolutely nothing for me. I know this is marketed towards kids since now their two favorite wrestlers are fighting one another but for everyone else, what is the actual controversy? Everything Ryback said Cena did, John Cena did. He never helped when Ryback was getting beat down. He always took over the spotlight even when it was Ryback challenging for the WWE title. Ryback was completely justified in what he did and how he feels towards Cena. If that’s the entire depth of the storyline, it’s not going to carry on for very long.
