Raw 999. Thank you.

[El T Draino 316]

Holy Hell.

I apologize if this should be a blog and not a thread, but I need to get this off my chest. I feel way too often I'm proned to find little niche trends or decisions in the WWE and complain about them. So when a time like this rolls around, I want to show that I'm capable of applauding a product when praise is due.


Raw 999, in my opinion, was absolutely AMAZING.

1. Build up for Raw 1000: Hats off to the WWE for really selling me on the Raw 1000. Huge matches, legends, new feuds emerging, a wedding, and epic surprises are inevitable and I couldn't be more excited. Will the Rock screw up Cena's cash in? Will CM Punk eat a Stone Cold Stunner? Will the lights go out and the gong go off? El T Draino IS AMPED.


2. Dolph on the Mic: For weeks I've vented that if Dolph is supposed to be a credible main eventer, the casual fans need to hear from him more. We wrestling fans appreciate his insane in-ring performances, but to garner bigger reactions, he's needed a mic in the ring with a chance to flash some skills, and he finally did. I thought he was great last night, aggressive, cocky, and persuasive.

3. New Feuds & Fresh Faces:
Dolph vs. Jericho - Fantastic. A great, high-quality main eventer for Dolph to battle with on the (arguably) 2nd biggest PPV of the year. I really hope Dolph goes over here, but we'll see.

D Bry and AJ - Entertaining as always. Althought it wasn't spelled out for us, the story Punk and AJ told in that ring at MITB said to me - Punk cared for AJ, but he cares more about the title. Bryan however, seemed to really be fighting for her. Its looking like a slow face turn for DB.

Miz and Eve - Not sure if there is anything here. But it's nice to see the WWE making a big deal about Miz's return.

Rey Rey - Fun, smart return. If he returns on Raw 1000, he's caught up in the mix. His return last night was perfectly timed, and a feud with Del Rio is great for both of them. It gets Del Rio out of the title picture, and actually has some relevancy.

4. The crowd: An awesome crowd last night! Hallelujah!

5. A Zack Ryder siting.

6. Family values: In an enjoyable Legends appearance, a small dose of Rikishi was fun to watch. I smiled ear to ear when he got a chance to dance with his sons in the ring. Cool moment.

7. Fan voting?!: The fans picked Christian over Santino, NICE.

8. I'm done rambling.

Long story short, I'm very happy with direction the E headed post MITB.

[Tommy Thunder]

I 100% agree. I've seen too many here saying "I'm done with WWE" "What a load of trash" etc in recent weeks, but things are looking good again IMO.

The potential and scope of things that can happen next week and beyond is exciting to me.

As a DX fan, the DX reunion and the tie in of Lesnar and Heyman to address HHH's challenge is exciting and a great way to open the show.

Although I'm (as always) skeptical about any fan voting WWE do (I mean did the we as fans REALLY give more votes to a divas title match rather than and US title match? Given Santino's popularity, I doubt it), I'm glad that it's an IC title match we're getting next week. I hope they use this to set up Christian's next IC title feud for Summerslam.

I'm a fan of The Rock, so can't wait to see what he's got in store for us next week. I think I'm right in saying that he's making an announcement regarding his claim that he wants to be WWE champ again (I think I remember him or WWE saying that's what it was about?) I wonder if he'll be special referee for the Cena vs Punk match? I wonder if they'll even put him in the match? Or perhaps he'll announce that he's facing the winner of the Cena vs Punk match at Summerslam? Plenty of potential there, plus the Cena vs Punk match should be great if it's given enough time.

I see a lot of potential in the Ziggler vs Jericho feud. Both are excellent in the ring, both are great on the mic (I see Ziggler getting more mic time in the coming months). Although I hope Ziggler goes over (he should at least), I'm slightly annoyed that Jericho has barely won anything since returning. I hope post Summerslam that they give him something. I understand that he's happy to put people over, but i hope he gets something. Another good thing about this feud is that we might possibly see Jericho turning face for the first time in years. Something that I'm excited to see.

Good to see Miz back. I hope he gets back in the main event picture in the coming months.

I know that many don't like Rey Mysterio, but I'm very happy to see him back. I think it's safe to say that he'll be putting ADR over in their feud (given the reports that ADR is getting the WHC at some point in the second half of 2012), but I'm glad Rey's back (I hope Sin Cara takes notes from his matches).

I can't wait to see who they reveal as the new GM/GM's next week. I hope they don't disappoint.

I wonder what other legends we'll see next week? SCSA will surely be there given his Raw relevance (interaction with Punk?). As much as I'd like to see Taker there, the show's pretty stacked as it is. I don't mind waiting for him for a while longer. I'm hoping we get to see Vince, Stephanie and (unlikely, but I can hope) Shane McMahon. With guys like Foley and Bret Hart (interaction with Tyson Kidd?) already confirmed, it should be great.

I could go on, but I'm too rambling here now. WWE is always good around Summerslam time, so I can't wait to see what we get in the next few weeks and beyond.

[eyehatecena]

yeah, i was surprised with Raw last night and was glad to see Ziggler get more mic time and Miz returning. As far as Cenas huge annoucement, i figured it was to say he wanted a match @1000. His huge announcements are too predictable btw. Regardless, Punk and Cena have had some great matches and i am sure it will not disappoint. Even if Rock screws Cena, causing him to not win, i am cool with that. It would nicely set up cena/rock 2. And while the next raw is sure to be great, its the ones that follow that i worry about. If there is more wrestling- great, more interviews- great. If more of this Tout crap, or twitter crap-not great

[Amerinaine]

It was a good lead in show. Nothing outstanding, nothing bad.

@TT: I know I voted for a Diva's Title match.

[Wade Barrett 1979]

Nice little build to next week, a show which to all intents and purposes they are treating like a PPV. Should be a goodie!

[Kenny Kaos]

Just done watching it, was a hell of a lot better than last weeks train wreck.

Good to see tag titles defended
Good to see Ziggler on the mic and feud with Jericho (face turn?)
Miz turning face? Bryan turning face? Or was that heel v heel? Either way, I like it
Rikishi a nice blast from the past
Zack got squashed, always good
Ryback in a feud with Swagger could be good for both
Punk did what he could with Big Slow

I forwarded through Rey Mysterio and Cena, they both do nothing for me

[Dr. Death]

RAW last night was decent, but I wouldn't go so far as to say great. There's a few pointers I noticed as well;

1. Big Show - This guy gave a really decent promo and out talked Punk before their match, it was nice to see. Also the Big Show I thought outclassed Punk in the ring, of course with the size of Big Show, he has to be able to sell well to make others look good, if he didn't then wrestlers like Punk, Miz, Del Rio, Bryan, etc... could never win against him. I thought Big Show made the main event last night and even out spoke Cena on the mic. I'd have to say that this heel turn for Show has done him some good.

2. Dolph Ziggler & Chris Jericho - Now here's a feud I've been wanting to see for a long while now. This match up could easily be the main event at any PPV, and Ziggler's mic work was great. Jericho didn't need to say anything and pulled off a great face turn by delivering the code breaker to Ziggler. I'm pumped to see more of this feud.

3. Jack Swagger - The WWE should push him more in letting him go over Ryback. I loved the way Swagger "put the hurt" to Ryback/Skip Sheffield in the opening segments of their match. I feel that Ryback needs to have a long feud and longer matches to pull off any type of real credibility and Swagger is just the guy to do this with.

4. Daniel Bryan - What can I say except face turn. AJ sucked as usual.

5. Rikishi & Rey Mysterio - Meh, didn't matter much to me, I felt as if the 'E could have given that time to others who deserved it.

6. John Cena - Same shtick different day.

7. Fans Voting - Seriously? Get real, they had it pre-planned from the beginning that Christian would defend the IC title next week. Santino never defends, Layla never defends, Christian hardly ever defends, and they wonder why title prestige is way down.

8. Next weeks RAW Hype - Done decently, however it's early yet and I can see the WWE fumbling the ball here once again. Just have to wait and see.

This is what I took away from watching RAW last night, and it's what stuck in my head as far as WWE programming is concerned right now.

[Robstar]

The problem now is WWE have got everyone expecting so little that they get all excited at what should be a standard show. It was good, but I deserve good. I deserve better too. Why? Because I'm awesome. The disappointment will re-emerge in a few weeks again, I'm sure

[Dr. Death]

The problem now is WWE have got everyone expecting so little that they get all excited at what should be a standard show. It was good, but I deserve good. I deserve better too. Why? Because I'm awesome. The disappointment will re-emerge in a few weeks again, I'm sure

That's a very acute observation there Rob, and it's oh so true. As long as the WWE can get fans to continue to accept less quality as a standard, the more they are going to do so. What should be standard matches on RAW and Smackdown are being reserved for the "filler" parts (and other parts) of a PPV. We as fans deserve more than this from the WWE, why? Because we are the ones that make or break a company. Our loyalty to pro wrestling should be rewarded not with sub-standard entertainment, but with above par matches and feuds. If the WWE wants "Fan Interaction" and "Vote", I say let's all "vote" for them to improve creative and thus improve the standard of the shows. The PPV's should set our blood boiling and excite us almost to a frenzy, making us want to order them. As long as sub-standard is the norm, PPV sales will continue to slump as well as their revenue.