BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
I didn’t hate this show! I’ve been in such a shitty mood about wrestling lately. The WWE product is just so frustrating right now. They have some great great talent, but the other stuff is so draining that it’s not fun to watch anymore. I don’t want to see Triple H against anyone who has been in the WWE longer than 3 years. His potential work with Curtis Axel is promising, but the story is about Triple H’s relationship with is father in law and his health more than fighting off a new threat. That’s just one of the many big reasons that RAW is not worth investing time into.
My favorite part of the show was seeing my current favorite wrestler lose the World Title. I was surprised by Dolph Ziggler already losing his belt, but holy shit that was awesome. It was BRUTAL and the match’s story worked out flawlessly. They pulled off a “double switch” like it was an art form. I really like Del Rio, but he’s just not getting over as a face like he should. He’s improved so much and continues to rock. There is a lot more he can do as a heel at this point. Dolph is in the same boat. He’s going to be great as the cool dude face. The match result wasn’t ideal, but I’m far from upset about it. That had to be one of the most intriguing character shifts in a long time. Very well done.
There was a lot to enjoy on this show. The opening IC Title match was solid. I really don’t like this combination of wrestlers, but they made it work. I’d like to see Wade Barrett get a real feud with someone that can elevate his career. I’d also like to see The Miz go heel again and take another run at the top. I’m not sold on Curtis Axel at all, but I like the risk they’re taking. He CAN wrestle and looks great in there, but he still lacks a ring presence to make me give a shit about his stuff. The problem here is Fandango. The finish seemed like it would have been PERFECT for Fandango to use to win the IC Title. Now I highly doubt that they’ll have a heel lose the belt to another heel so Fandango is pretty much screwed. Fandango needed that belt WAY more than Axel at this point.
The Shield matches were good as always. Seth Rollins is going to kill himself someday taking some of these bumps. The Tag Title Match was really good. I wish Orton and Bryan would have a successful run of being a collective group of bad asses, but then going at it sounds that much more interesting. I just don’t know who is going to step up in a feud with these guys. I wish they had some more teams. Dean Ambrose and Kane had a good match. It wasn’t great, but it was definitely solid. I dug the count out finish. I’m just really curious where The Shield goes from here. Who can they work with now?
Punk and Jericho was a great match. I think their “Extreme Rules” match from last year was better, but it was still really damn good. There’s not a whole lot to say. It’s the same old CM Punk PPV match. He has a back and forth start, it slows down, it picks back up for some teases and big spots, and then the rest is near-fall after near-fall. Big move! Slow pin! Kick out! Big move! Slow pin! Kick out! Rinse and repeat. The dude also doesn’t ever seem to PUNCH ANYONE. He’s all forearms and kicks. No punches. Am I the only one who notices this?
I’m never into Cena stuff. I don’t hate the man, but he’s stale. Oddly enough, Ryback is stale too. He’s new, but his whole act is stale. Seriously, his slogan is now “Ryback Rules!”? How freaking cheesy can you get? It reminds me of the “O’Doyle” family from the movie “Billy Madison”. I fully expect Ryback to be driving off a cliff after his car slips on a banana peel. THAT would have been more exciting than the “Three Stages of Hell” match. It was okay, but there was NOTHING memorable about it. It was just “there”. When I think of “Three Stages of Hell”, I think of Triple H going after Cactus Jack with a barbed wire wrapped 2x4 LIT ON FIRE… WHILE ON TOP OF A CELL! This match had a gimmicked Ambulance, the visual of Alex Riley on my screen, and cheap tables. Not the same. Not the same at all.
As for my predictions, I didn’t do that well. I only threw my predictions down on the first three announced matches. I knew Cena would win, but I expected Barrett and Jericho to get the wins in their matches. So that’s unexpectedly interesting. The show itself was unexpectedly interesting. It didn’t blow my mind, but it was a really solid show from top to bottom. This didn’t reignite my passion for wrestling, but I’ll at least force myself to watch a few more RAWs…
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