Welcome everybody to Raw Is:
The (potentially) weekly column where I review and poke fun at the 20 minutes of actual content on the 3 hour extravaganza that is Monday Night Raw!
The following content contains spoilers! Yes, SPOILERS! Read on at your own peril.
The opening segment was fun, better than the exchanges between Ziggles and Cena have been in the past. The match was fine, but of course in typical Cena fashion he would win the match acting as if all the offense he received never happened. This of course including the interference and The Big Finish from Big E Langston. I felt this really undermined Big E’s threat level. If Cena can so easily kick out of his finishing move, why would anybody take Big E seriously when the inevitable Cena vs Langston match comes around.
On a similar point, Dolph Ziggler is THE best seller in wrestling. For those unaware of the term, selling is wrestling jargon for making your opponent look good. When someone lands a move on a wrestler, it’s the receiving competitors duty to make that move look like it hurt. Whether it does or not. Aside from his technical abilities, anyone who steps in the ring with Ziggler instantly looks better. The problem with this however, is that Dolph looks bad.
In a recent interview with PWTorch, Booker T noted:
“He needs to start thinking about himself a whole lot more. He thinks about the other guy he’s in the ring with way too much. … One thing I tell him is he has to be more selfish (in the ring). Until he starts doing that, he’s not going to get over like he should.”
Hopefully Dolph listens to the Smackdown GM and begins to make himself look good, as well as his opponent.
I could write an entire book on the state of the Diva’s division and women’s wrestling in general, but I’ve given up caring. Which is extremely disappointing as I have always been a massive supporter. The Divas could be a solid third of any wrestling show, but the way WWE treat them, and the last I checked TNA too, they are a joke.
Prime example this week is the Divas title match. All arguments on the storyline and actual wrestlers themselves aside, the fact that more people were probably watching Rock’s personal twitter feed than the women in the ring is disgraceful. It’s not the Rocks fault, its not the fans fault, its whoever decided that the Divas title match meant so little that they would rent that airtime to tweets from fans about The Rock.
The main thing I observed during all the 3MB segments and matches was the fact that Drew Mcintyre is officially the hairiest wrestler since Albert (Tensai). Maybe they could start a storyline based on that.
Speaking of hair, WWE have started dropping hints for the stipulation to Tag Team title match at Wrestlemania. Team Hell No vs Team Rhodes Scholars in a Beard vs Mustache match. It’s so absurd i’m scared they’ll actually do it!
And now the Raw Four. Like Booker T’s Fav Five, i’ll be keeping a track of my personal favorite wrestlers, the guys and dolls whom I believe to be the best superstars on Raw, as well as those I think will be future main eventers.
This weeks Raw Four:
Dolph Ziggler – Antonio Cesaro – Big E Langston – The Shield
Dolph Ziggler is most likely to be up here all year. I will be flabbergasted if he isn’t the World Heavyweight Champion coming into or exiting Wrestlemania 29.
Antonio Cesaro is a classic heel and his character has barely even evolved yet. Plus, did you see him hit The Neutraliser on The Great Khali! Jesus H Macy!
Big E Langston. Big. Black. What’s not to love. I’ll expand more on Big E later in Who’s NXT.
The Shield is a bit of a cheat, as there is 3 of them, but for the talent that makes up The Shield, they need to be included.
So now we know Cena, Sheamus, Orton, Ziggler & 3MB will all be part of this years Royal Rumble. But did anyone else notice the dark horse entry this year hiding in the front row. The question on all our lips surely is, will Grumpy Cat enter the Rumble?
I won’t comment on the finishing promo. If you didn’t get who won, then you lost.
Highlight of the Night
That being said, the highlight of the night was, for me, during the WWE Championship TLC match. As Ryback was about to unhook the title, with Punk put through a table on the outside, the lights mysteriously turned off. When they came back on Rollins & Ambrose were up the ladder and commenced a beating on Ryback.
If this isn’t the start of the setup for The Undertaker’s return, then WWE creative are stupid. I’m sure half the arena thought the Deadman himself was about to appear, as the blackout is a signature of his gimmick. I would put money (If I had any) on The Shield vs The Streak match at mania. And if Ryback isn’t busy, we might see him siding with The Phenom.
The final moment of the night didn’t make this weeks Highlight of the Night, as it may just be my opinion. However, it seemed to me that CM Punk totally no sold the Rock Bottom. Punk didn’t appear to help in the move, which is why it looked a little dull. If true, there could really be some heat between two men. Or perhaps it is just to get smarks like me all riled up.
Squared Circle: The 21st Century Circus 