The opening segment of Raw felt all too familiar, but a wrinkle in the overused ascension promo proved beneficial.
With The Authority in the ring, wrestlers gathered on stage and a destined Randy Orton entrance, my attention was lost within the first 10 seconds of the show. To the WWE’s credit, they captured it again quickly.
Half asleep through Orton’s promo (Terminator 5 might want this robot to take on John Conner in the upcoming reboot), John Cena interrupted and instead of shining the spotlight on himself, he directed the glory toward Daniel Bryan. In a twist of fate (no not the Matt Hardy kind, the good kind), Bryan was booked for a title match against Orton in the main event of Raw. Indeed, it must be Wrestlemania season.
As most of you know by now, what occurred in the main event was an angle that provided Orton raising his titles above the heads of both Bryan and Cena. Triple threat match? While nothing is confirmed, you better believe this is the route the WWE will take. Though I don’t hate it, I’m not overanxious about it either. It reminds me of the Wrestlemania 24 title match between Orton, Cena and Triple H, where Orton capitalized and won in a fashion that made you believe he was more opportunistic, less skillful. Sound familiar?
Grab your shovels, boys and girls. Let’s dig into Raw’s creative direction, and point out the good, the bad and the alternate route they should have taken.
Pop Worthy:
That Shawn Michaels/C.M. Punk promo though… Michaels better have an itch come April 6, because if he’s just out here teasing us with another match at Wrestlemania, wrestling fans are going to have the bluest of jingle bells. Second column, people, and I’m already calling shots like I’m Babe Ruth in the bottom of the ninth.
Getting back on topic, a heel Michaels is supreme in the world of wrestling. He plays with the crowd, he has that snake-like charm in his promos and he simply outsmarts everyone he’s in the ring with by devaluing their arguments.
Michaels’ brief program was setup brilliantly by the WWE. Punk came out, cut a solid promo on Triple H and asked for him to make the walk to the ring and face him. Instead of Hunter (I like to call him by his fake first name), we get Michaels with an unsuspecting surprise.
The best part, you ask? Michaels wasn’t playing hometown favorite in the state of Texas. Heck, it might as well have been Canada. Fans greeted him with “you sold out” chants. Michaels was quick to retort. “Shut your pie-holes, let me finish, I’ve got a car waiting” said Michaels to his home state. To which the crowd joined in unison by chanting, “one more match!”
Only HBK, man.
And while we’re praising the WWE, how about that match Orton and Bryan put on in the main event? Not only did the WWE grant fans with a free title match, the WWE provided time for two great athletes to tear the house down. They did that and then some.
Falling Flat:
I’m just going to start this off with a series of questions, ok? Why was Brodus Clay’s turn on Sweet T immediately followed by a dancing celebration with the Funkadactyls, R-Truth and Xavier Woods? Why would The Authority grant Bryan a title match when they supposedly despise him? Why do I even expect most of Raw to make sense nowadays?
Admittedly, I enjoyed Raw very much. The emphasis on the tag team division was fresh, Fandango and Dolph Ziggler “showed off” in the ring and the match between Orton and Bryan put both competitors over.
However, why is The Authority so bipolar? One minute they share a disdain for Bryan and an infatuation with Orton, and the next it seems nearly opposite. Stephanie McMahon said something to the tune of, “the crowd does love (Bryan)…” Yeah, the crowd loved him four months ago too and you didn’t care then. Consistency, people. It’s needed for great storytelling.
And with Clay’s turn on Sweet T, the WWE basically nodded their head in agreement with us. “Yeah, we know nobody cares about this angle, but how about some dancing to distract you?”
Sure. As long as we’re both on the same page that only Clay’s mama would enjoy a Funkasaurus-push.
The Road Not Traveled:
The WWE pulled the rug out from under Punk vs. Orton, as TLC’s results shared no implications on the WWE’s title picture. Although extending the Punk/Shield storyline gave us an incredible Raw moment between Punk and HBK, the continuation of the storyline made absolutely no sense. In fact, the Shield never talked about Roman Reigns costing Dean Ambrose the match. Perhaps the WWE got tired of teasing dissension among the members of the Shield at the most opportune time to do so…
I digress. The opening segment should have transpired as such: Orton running his mouth, Cena biting his tongue (because he’s a graceful loser), Bryan looking frustrated and Punk interrupting with a microphone.
Punk has already beaten the Shield in a handicap match, Cena lost clean in a high stakes match and Bryan is coming off of a loss to Bray Wyatt and his posse. It’s obvious who the No. 1 contender is. Plus, the interruption serves Punk’s character, because, you know, he’s the same guy who delivered a pipe bomb on stage to “start a revolution.” Not to mention, the groundwork has been laid. Triple H forced him into a handicap match against his Hounds of Justice after Punk questioned his creativity.
Punk should have challenged Orton, Triple H should have caved because Punk beat the Shield in a handicap match, and the build toward Punk vs. Orton at the Royal Rumble should have began.
To the WWE’s credit, they did provide an intriguing alternative that will have me anticipating a triple threat match at the Royal Rumble.
Alright, that does it for me in the first edition. That ball is going, going, gone. As always, sound off below. Comment, if I let you. (Walks out of the office to Taz’s intro).
