This will undoubtedly be the first of many columns on this weeks Raw but I have to add my two cents as this was one of the best Raw shows I have seen in years, so I feel it needs to be addressed.
The Opening: the show started off extremely solid with a TON of heat on Wade Barrett and his promo. He demanded and got a WWE Championship rematch and announced Cena would give a farewell speech. Cole once again did a great job of gathering heat on him, excellent start to the the show, alot of energy to start, the crowd was very hot.
Sheamus vs. R Truth : two things that were phenomenal about this and neither of em were the very solid match that both men put on. The first is CM Punk on announce. It was rumored and Punk is now for the time being the 3rd man on the Raw announce team. Anything to keep Punk on tv is a good thing and he did not disappoint in his new role. After some figuring out the three really got on a role and found their rhythm together, great decision. The second positive about this is the return of the King of The Ring, a great tournament to help showcase up and coming talent. Sheamus wins in a very good match. Really hope Truth gets the push he deserves.
Ezekiel Jackson vs. The Miz : there was some filler before this a few solid backstage promos including one very entertaining one with LayCool (yes its true) and then comes Zeke vs. The Miz replacement Alex Riley. Now even before the Miz claimed an anxiety attack I think we all sensed something was up tonight but either way this helped build Ezekiel Jackson into a potentially dominant role. Mission accomplished, Jackson looked good for a guy his size. The size of this guy alone is damn impressive.
John Cena Promo : there is a lot of talk about Cena good and bad. Like him or hate him he KNOCKED the shit out of this promo. The main issue I have with Cena is his over the top character and that is what creative saddles him with. His in ring work will never be the greatest but the guy is a star and more importantly has a genuine passion for the business that shows every time he is out there. If you pay attention to everything Cena does and says you can tell the words he spoke tonight were absolutely real and he put on that promo like this really was his last night. When ever he does come back I hope creative lets him be more like himself and he ll deliver some amazing material.
Oh btw that thing with him getting the women and children to chant LETS GO CENA and all the guys above 18 to chant CENA SUCKS was phucking brilliant. Absolutely hilarious one of the best Raw moments in the recent past.
Daniel Bryan vs. Ted DiBiase : its almost hard for me to gloss over this match but they weren’t given nearly enough time to make it entertaining but creative continues to wisely push Bryan but man they seem to be burying DiBiase as of late.
Natalya vs. Alicia Fox: this actually wasn’t bad of a match, particularly when Punk commented that ringside Brie Bella was a 4 out of 10 and the discussion that ensued. Either way the crowd was hot when Natties hair got pulled off and this match should have turned into more of a brawl but either way there were some good spots and Natalya being pushed is definitely a good thing.
John Morrison vs. Tyson Kidd: the one thing that surprises me about this is that Tyson Kidds first match as a heel he loses clean to Morrison but in any regard this was the best match of the night from a purely technical standpoint and really showcased both mens talents. Hopefully Kidd will rebound soon and Morrisons long overdue main event push will continue. Excellent match.
Wade Barrett vs. Randy Orton: its so exciting to see a WWE championship match on Raw and everyone sensed something was going to happen, although it almost looked like for a second we wouldn’t get the match when Nexus attacked Orton prior to the start. Thankfully after a commercial break of worrying that WWE might drop the ultimate ball to a potentially great Raw, we got the match to restart with Orton heavily favoring his knee. A pretty solid back and forth until we saw Barrett hit WasteLand and out of nowhere Cena pulls the ref out of the ring as he was counting 3. Great choice as the crowd went nuts seeing Cena and Nexus chased him off after he got in an AA on Wade. (which I guess the ref didnt see?) Oh well, back to the match Barrett gets up and BOOM into an RKO and Orton wins.
Okay at this point Im saying not yet…not yet…not yet…NOW! I was a few seconds off but right after that so many of us got exactly what we were waiting for and heard AWESOME!
Miz vs. Randy Orton: the only thing I thought wasn’t great was the timing of showing Miz at the top of the ramp come out holding the case, it was kind of rushed or the camera work was off. Either way Miz ran down to cash in. I like how this match started, it wasn’t the normal squash fest that cashing in usually is. He really took his time to try and attack Orton, while Randy tried to fight him off. Orton fought back and had a few of his signature moves to put Miz on the ground. After his scoop slam Orton attempts an RKO and Miz counters right away with the Skull Crushing Finale and BOOM One Two Three and we have our new champ. The Miz celebrates wildly in the ring as a lot of the crowd including that little girl looked REALLY mad.
In Closing: like I said one of the best Raws in recent years. Solid wrestling but more importantly the King of the Ring is being brought back. A lot of talented performers continued to be deservedly pushed, entertaining promos. The drama with Cena and his absolutely flawless speech, with a title match as the main event. A good finish with the twist in the ending that EVERYBODY wanted to see all makes this was one of the most exciting shows I have seen in years from WWE. Knowing what was going to happen did not make it one less bit entertaining. I give it a 9.5 out of 10 absolutely an Awesome Raw. (pun intended)
