The John Report: The WWE Raw Deal 02/20/12
By John Canton (Twitter @johnreport)
I wrote it live this week. Live from Portland, Oregon this is the Raw Deal…
They aired a recap of Cena’s speech last week where he was criticizing The Rock. No surprise on that since The Rock will be in the building tonight. They went to the Nickelback music intro.
The show is starting with CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan. Not only does Raw start with a match for a change, but it’s also beginning with a match between the two major champions. They replayed the ordeal from Smackdown where their match didn’t have a clean finish.
Before the match could begin, Chris Jericho (with bright light jacket) came out. I guess we can’t start the show with a match, but that’s okay because of who is talking. Jericho said he was a fan of Punk. He just didn’t think Punk was better than him. Jericho said he didn’t put his name on a shirt. Jericho said he was from a different breed because he toured the world before coming to WWE. He gave a nice speech about how hard he worked to get there and that people in the back didn’t always like him (go read his book Undisputed), but he was still a success.
Punk said we knew how good Jericho thinks he is. Punk said he didn’t steal anything from Jericho. Anything he has he’s fought for and earned. Then he showed the WWE Title. Punk mentioned Bret Hart. Huge pop. He said his catchphrase. “Did you give that to him when he was two years old?” Punk: “Did you invent Canada?” I wish he did. Jericho ripped on him for being sarcastic. He said this is on a whole different level from anything Punk’s ever done before. Jericho said he’s proved it every night over the last 22 years. Jericho: “You can boo if you want, but you know it’s the truth.” He says he’s beat legendary performers and future Hall of Famers while having matches that are going to be talked about long after they are gone. He said he’s the best in the world at everything he does.
Punk wondered if Jericho was trying to prove his best in the world moniker to the fans or if Jericho is trying to prove it to himself. Punk said that Jericho was never really the man like how Punk is the man. In other words, he is saying that Jericho was never the top guy. You can say that Punk isn’t in the spot because Cena is, but I see what he’s saying. Punk says he’s the best wrestler in the world and this is what he does. He says Jericho chooses to write books, be on radio shows, etc. and Punk is on top while Jericho is dancing with stars. Jericho said that while he was on Dancing on the Stars and being on the Tonight Show all he could think about was Punk ripping him off. Jericho said he came back to embarrass Punk on the biggest stage in the world so he could shove it down Punk’s throat that he is the best in the world at he does. Jericho: “I am it every single night.” Punk told him that’s all he had to say. Punk said he doesn’t need Chris Brown and Jericho doesn’t Mickey Rourke. Then he mocked material things “and screw your stupid jacket!” Punk says all they need is their work in the ring to have the best match in WrestleMania history. Punk told him that at the end of the night when Jericho sees Punk celebrating: “it’s not going to be the end of the world, it’s just going to be the end of yours.”
That was an awesome promo segment. They covered a lot and they did a good job of explaining their points of views as it relates to the WrestleMania match. That’s what I wanted to see. Two of the best talkers in the business doing their thing at the extremely high level that we’ve become accustomed to. I guess that means we still got a promo to start the show, but when it comes to Punk/Jericho it’s fine with me.
The entrance of Daniel Bryan took place next. He was accompanied by his girlfriend AJ, John Laurinaitis & David Otunga.
CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan
Punk threw him out of the ring about 20 seconds into the match. They went to commercial.
(Commercial)
Back from break, at ringside we’ve got Teddy Long along with Santino and then John Laurinaitis along with David Otunga. It’s the feuding GM angle that will likely lead to a match at WrestleMania. Back to the match, Punk knocked Bryan out to the floor. Punk was going to do a dive and AJ stood in front of Bryan to block it. Bryan tripped up Punk on the apron. Then Bryan threw Punk into the steel steps. Another commercial.
(Commercial)
They returned from the break to show Bryan hitting a superplex and Punk getting a pinfall attempt for two. Bryan missed a charged in the corner. Punk hit a heel kick followed by a spinning neckbreaker. Punk hit the running knee into the corner, but Bryan avoided the bulldog and Punk slammed him down. Punk hit the top rope elbow. His ribs were sore so he couldn’t cover him. Otunga jumped on the apron. Punk knocked him down. They ran the ropes and collided with a double crossbody block for the KO spot. Santino hit the crossbody on Otunga. Laurinaitis pulled Santino off the apron. Everybody started arguing. Bryan took his World Title and tried to leave. Sheamus attacked him from behind. He threw Bryan in the ring and Punk hit the Go To Sleep. He covered. Laurinaitis ran in the ring and told the ref to DQ him after 15 minutes although about 6 minutes of that were commercials.
Winner via DQ – Daniel Bryan
In the ring, everybody was arguing. Long knocked down Laurinaitis. Santino & Otunga tried to break it up. Punk left. He was happy at the top of the ramp even though he was robbed of the win. Jericho attacked Punk from behind and gave him a body slam on the entrance ramp. Then Jericho put him in the Walls of Jericho with his right foot right on Punk’s head LION TAMER~! style.
Analysis: *** Typical good match from these two although the shenanigans outside the ring hurt it a bit. Also the two commercial breaks didn’t help either. That’s their third match that has happened in the last month without a clear finish.
They plugged The Rock coming up later.
As previously mentioned, I’m reviewing every WWE WrestleMania event prior to WrestleMania 28 exclusive to TJR. Recent updates include WrestleManias 12, 11 and 10 as I get near the halfway point. You can catch up by viewing the archive here if you missed anything. Keep the feedback coming!
(Commercial)
They returned from break showing Jericho’s attack at Punk.
We get the video package promoting the Undertaker/Triple H match starting from last year and then the buildup of promos on Raw as well.
They plugged John Cena vs. The Miz for later as well as The Rock.
That was a boring segment of the show although the video package was good. It’s just that if you watch the show weekly they didn’t give you anything new there.
(Commercial)
We return from break with Kelly Kelly & Nikki Bella in a ring. I’m glad we didn’t have to hear their awful theme songs.
Kelly Kelly vs. Nikki Bella
They tried to put over Kelly & Eve’s twitter arguments. I don’t follow either of them on Twitter. They offer nothing interesting. Nikki was on offense for about 20 seconds and then Kelly was YELLYING UP~! and hit a bulldog. Kelly hit a bridging pin for the win. Match went about 60 seconds.
Winner: Kelly Kelly
Analysis: DUD Typical divas match that was too short. Considering it was Kelly & Nikki I’m fine with it being so short.
They plugged Big Show & Sheamus vs. Cody Rhodes & Mark Henry for later.
The Rock will be on later.
John Cena vs. The Miz is next.
They are doing a bad job of placing commercials this week. Not enough action in between.
(Commercial)
We’re near the top of hour two. There’s John Cena to a nice pop. His obvious squashing of the afterthought known as The Miz is about to happen.
The Miz had a microphone. He talked about how nobody has worked harder than him. He says he’s the one that WWE calls when they need public relations. Is this supposed to make us hate him? Miz said his name has yet to be called upon for WrestleMania. Nice sign: “Miz, remember when you mattered?” Miz said he’s going to rectify this crime and that he’s going to prove that he’s WrestleMania worthy. He’s going to prove it by beating the man he beat at last year’s WrestleMania.
John Cena vs. The Miz
The dueling Cena chants started right away. Cena hit a fisherman’s suplex on Miz. Cena hit a back elbow. Cena went for the Attitude Adjustment but Miz countered into his backbreaker/neckbreaker combo for two. Miz hit a running knee to Cena’s head for two. Cena came back with a back body drop. Cena decked him with a clothesline. Miz came back with his DDT while Cena was on his knees. I like to call it the short DDT. Miz hit his corner clothesline. Miz missed a double axe off the top. Cena hit the shoulderblocks and then the spinning sideslam leading to the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment. Cena put him in the STF. Miz tapped out at the 5 minute mark.
Winner: John Cena
Analysis: *1/4 The announcers did what they could to put over Miz. Nobody really believed he had a shot though. Strong win for Cena. That’s what he should be doing prior to WrestleMania.
As Cena was celebrating, they showed The Rock warming up backstage. He was watching the TV screen. Then he stared at the camera, did the “you can’t see me” hand gesture and then pulled his hand down to end the scene, which led the screen to go black. That was nice. Cena celebrated to end the segment.
(Commercial)
They announced the next match would be a tag team title triple threat (5 T’s there!) match. The first team was Kofi Kingston & R-Truth. Vicky Guerrero introduced her team Jack Swagger & Dolph Zigger. The last team would obviously be the champions, Epico & Primo along with Rosa.
Tag Team Titles: Epico & Primo w/Rosa vs. R-Truth & Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger & Dolph Ziggler w/Vicky Guerrero
I’m glad that it took them five years to realize Rosa couldn’t wrestle and now all they use her for is to dance around at ringside. God bless her for the dancing. She’s fantastic at it. The rules of the match were that three guys were in the ring at the same time while their partners were outside the ring. Truth hit a nice dropkick on Primo and then a jumping side kicke to Ziggler. Swagger ran in the ring and crushed Truth. Kingston ran into Swagger and they fell to the floor. All six guys were on the floor. Another commercial!
(Commercial)
Back to the action, Truth was fight off Primo and Ziggler. Triple threat tags are hard to write about because there’s so much going on at once. Truth hit a neckbreaker combo on Primo and Ziggler at the same time. Ziggler talked Swagger and Primo tagged Epico so Truth tagged in Kingston. He went nuts on Jack & Epico hitting kicks on both guys. Kofi hit his double boot to the face of Swagger and then a beautiful crossbody for two. Kingston slammed Epico on Swagger and then he hit the boom drop on both guys at once. Ziggler hit the Zig Zag on Kingston and Truth clotheslined Ziggler out. Swagger’s pin on Kofi got two. Swagger put the ankle lock on Epico. Kingston hit Trouble in Paradise on Swagger and then Primo hit the Back Stabber on Swagger while taking out Kingston. Primo covered Swagger for the win.
Winners: Primo & Epico
Analysis: ** A decent match that was worked at a fast pace. Good win for the tag champs. They need a true feud though.
After the match, Kane’s music hit. He decked Primo with a kick and then hit chokeslams on Ziggler as well as Epico. A chokeslam for R-Truth. Kane did his pose to set the ring posts on fire. Then he left. That was fun.
Backstage, Laurinaitis and Otunga were having chit-chat. Teddy walked into his office. Teddy said that he heard Laurinaitis won’t be running Raw next week. Laurinaitis said
Coming up soon, Sheamus & Big Show vs. Mark Henry & Cody Rhodes
Later tonight, we’ll see The Rock.
(Commercial)
Back from break, they showed a video of Eve’s heel turn.
Justin Roberts introduced Eve. Nice “You’re a Hoeski” sign in the crowd. There’s a “Broski over Hoeski” sign too. Eve dresses way better as a heel. Shows off her body well. She said there wouldn’t be a man in the world wouldn’t love to be used by a woman like her. She said men crumble at her feet like puppies looking for affection. “You men should blame yourselves for your weaknesses.” Then she blew a kiss. I kept waiting for an interruption. There wasn’t one. She just left. When she shows that much cleavage she should get cheered more than she’s ever been cheered. The crowd wasn’t that loud in terms of booing her. The announcers talked about Eve.
The camera cut backstage where Kelly confronted Eve, wondering what w as going on. Eve laughed and left. Then Alicia showed up. Wow Alicia looked like a giant next to Kelly.
Big Show & Sheamus were backstage getting ready for their match.
They showed the trailer for the new movie Bending The Rules starring Edge. It’s a comedy that also stars Jamie Kennedy. It looks like all WWE Films, which is to say it’s not as funny as they think it is.
(Commercial)
They mentioned that Randy Orton will be on Smackdown this week. Good. Try to protect him so he doesn’t get hurt again.
The announcers mentioned that Long may be running Raw next week and Laurinaitis may be running Smackdown next week.
Prior to the tag match beginning, Cody Rhodes announced Miguel Cotto faces Floyd Mayweather and that he only weighs 150 pounds, which makes Big Show’s loss to him at WrestleMania 24 all the more embarrassing. Then Cody threw to the video of the match for this week’s embarrassing Big Show losing WrestleMania moment. At least they did the video before the match instead of during a match like last week.
Big Show & Sheamus vs. Cody Rhodes & Mark Henry
Cody tagged in Mark to start the match. Show knocked Henry down. Cody left. Sheamus tagged in and hit the Brogue Kick to beat Mark. Match went about a minute.
Winners: Big Show & Sheamus
Analysis: DUD Henry is back to where he was about a year ago when he was a nobody. It’s like his World Title push didn’t happen. Jobbing in a minute is a bad sign.
They plugged WWE.com having a major announcement from the board of directors tomorrow. Their views on the website are down 22%, so they’re trying to get people to visit the site for big announcements.
The Rock is up next for the main event segment.
(Commercial)
They plugged Shawn Michaels being on Raw next week in Boston.
“If you smelllllllllllllllllllllll…” and there is the Rock in a WWE arena for the first time since Survivor Series. Huge pop for the People’s Champ. You see Rock’s face when he gets that kind of huge pop? That’s why he comes back. He loves the electricity. Don’t get that on a movie set.
The Rock Addresses John Cena
Rock pointed at his arm as he mentioned the goosebumps on his arm because this (the reaction) feels so damn good. Lawler pointed out that Rock had never performed in Portland. It’s because WWE was banned in the city until after Rock had left as a full timer. Crowd chanted “Boots to Asses” as we reach the 11pmET hour. Rock says he’s not here every single week. He says he was there for years and years and he loved it. “The Rock was born and created here in the WWE. If it weren’t for the WWE, The Rock would never exist.” When he said he was never going away he meant it. It didn’t mean he was going to be back at every Raw or Smackdown. The crowd chanted “Fruity Pebble” to interrupt him. He said he respected the audience because the audience knows his heart and soul was in this business. He said he’s standing in the ring for no other reason than that he loves the WWE. “I will always be a part of the WWE and the WWE will always be a part of me.”
He addressed John Cena. He said he always thought Cena was a phony because he went to a private school and thought he was a thug. Rock said that Cena went into that big speech about how Rock was hard to reach. Rock said he didn’t want to talk to Rock on the phone or talk to him in catering. I assume he was going to say he wanted to see Cena in the ring, but the crowd kept checking Rock’s name. Rock doesn’t think Cena is a phony or a bad guy, but what you are is a “kung pow bitch.” Kind of like kung pow chicken. Rock said Cena talked about being there for the guys in the back. Rock said that when the fans were booing him as a babyface (he said babyface), do you think that anybody was fighting for him? Nobody fought for them because they were them. Rock said that while Cena fights for the guys in the back, the Rock fights for them…and then he pointed towards the fans. He said the people are tired of having a kung pow bitch being shoved down their throat every single night. Rock said that “kung pow bitch” is trending worldwide. He said the people are tired of John Cena. Rock has been going for about ten minutes at this point. Rock said when he called Cena a “Fruity Pebble” the fans started chanting it and then we saw Cena’s monkey ass on a cereal box. Then he said “Cena’s lady parts was trending worldwide.” And ended it with “you’re welcome bitch.” A graphic told us that “Kung Pow” and “Boots to Asses” were trending. Rock mentioned that “lady parts” and “Rocky” were being chanted. He encouraged a “lady parts” chant and then a “Rocky” chant after that. Rock said that what they do is innovate and have fun. The only change Cena has done is gone from jean shorts to camouflage shorts. He said the camo was working because “we can’t find your balls forever.” Rock wanted “Cena’s missing balls” to trend worldwide. Finally John Cena comes out after 15 minutes of The Rock talking.
Cena said he was okay with being called kung pow chicken because that’s at every Chinese restaurant just like Cena is on Raw every week. John Cena says Dwayne Johnson is a selfish son of a bitch that wouldn’t give a rat’s ass if the company closed down tomorrow. He mentioned he doesn’t need things to trend just like he didn’t need his promo notes on his wrist. Some people were tweeting me about the Rock having notes on his wrist. Cena said he may not have balls, but he’s going to beat the hell out of The Rock at WrestleMania. Cena left.
Rock said that Cena left before Rock could slap the taste out of his mouth. He said the only thing that matters is that at WrestleMania the Rock is going to kick your candy ass all over WrestleMania. That led to the end of the show.
It was hard to capture everything in their promos. I liked what Rock said, but he was rambling a bit too much even for him and I’m a huge Rock fan. Cena did an awesome job of running him down and dropping that bomb with the line about how Rock had notes on his wrist. I’m a little surprised that they didn’t get into a brawl, but I also understand not giving it away either. I think you can make a case that Cena outclassed Rock on the promo although really he only spoke for about two minutes while Rock spoke for 15 minutes or so. I’m sure there will be more verbal debates in the weeks to come. You could feel the electricity in the air when they were together. That’s what is going to sell WrestleMania. The crowd reactions for Rock are bigger than anybody else and Cena’s stock will rise just by being in the ring with him too. I like both guys although admittedly I like Rock more. This feud will make me like Cena more than I do, too. That’s why it’s working. That’s why I like it. That’s why I’m so damn excited for WrestleMania. April 1. Can’t wait.
——————-
Three Stars of the Show
1. John Cena – I’m putting him here for what he said to Rock. I was impressed.
2. The Rock – Did great. Confused about why he needed notes on the wrist, though.
3. (tie) CM Punk – Awesome promo to start plus a good match.
3. (tie) Chris Jericho – The best booking of Jericho since he’s been back.
6 out of 10
Last week: 7.5
2012 Average: 5.94
2012 High: 9 (January 30)
2012 Low: 4 (January 9)
Last 5 Weeks: 7.5, 5, 4.5, 9, 7
It was a step back from last week. The first 35 minutes or so were very good. Then the show dragged until The Rock’s final promo. It felt like a commercial and video package fest in between those parts. That’s why it gets the 6 out of 10 rating from me. There was more good than bad, but not enough to call it a great Raw like last week.
How would you rate 02/27 Raw on the 1-10 scale?
What’s the Twitter Ten? People send me questions on Twitter @johnreport and I answer them.
@lastmanoftruth better chance cena vs rock 3 or rock vs taker 1 at mania next year
I would say Rock vs. Cena 3 is more likely next year assuming Rock/Cena 2 is Summerslam.
@Team_Cole In the weeks going into Mania. How should wwe draw more interest into the Sheamus/Dbry match? I’m afraid of it being overshadowed.
It is overshadowed no matter what they do. Just build up a story and the performers can pull it off.
@ronhpatel Are you in favor of the rumored best 2 out of 3 series between Rock and Cena?
It’s fine with me, but I’d rather see Rock work with others.
@MrRobbieFoster your thoughts on Regal being pushed into the announcer role in the future?
Love Regal. He should be commentating on Raw, not just NXT.
@HabsMike35 Do you see Taker forcing Trips to put his career on the line for their HIAC match at WM 28?
I don’t think they need to add that stip. Hunter doesn’t need to retire.
@Gavmyster Do you think Jericho’s return has been a huge letdown so far?
Not a huge letdown, but could have been handled better for sure.
@Mr_Davies2012 Hypothetical question; if you could call up any of the talents in FCW who would it be and why?
Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. From what I’ve seen they are the two that are the most ready.
@JohnTirpak Will Laurinaitis become permanent general manager of both shows? More importantly, will anybody actually care about this match?
@jmuttersomethin do you think zack ryder will be back for wrestlemania?
Yes likely against Kane. And Zack will win.
@HabsMike35 Do you see Taker retiring after WM 28?
Undertaker is pretty much retired already.
That’s all from me. Keep checking out newly re-designed thejohnreport.net for WrestleMania recaps three times per week (it might be four next week as I pick up the pace) and also TJR Radio returns this Wednesday at 10pmET. I’ve also got Canton’s Corner on Saturday and all the fine columns from the staff at TJR are posted every single day. Thanks for reading!
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