After an extended time of not blogging, I'm back to waste 15 minutes of your life again. Today's blog will touch on last night's Raw, the build to the Elimination Chamber, and the ultimate build to Wrestlemania. Let's get too it as I've probably already lost half of you with those first 2 sentences.
Raw 2/4/2013:
I have to be honest. The show had some BIG hits last night. The problem is, however, is that it also had some BIG misses too. Let's review:
Hits:
- C.M. Punk's continued rant about losing his title. This is amazing work. Punk is always money on the mic and he continues to do so in an emotional and enraged/delusional way. Punk makes that title means something without even having it. Many things relating to Punk made the hits list, including:
- C.M. Punk vs. Chris Jericho. We were treated, for some unknown reason, to a Wrestlemania caliber match on Raw. A lengthy match with near falls, big moves, fan interaction, and a clean win all got the audience at home and in the arena to invest emotionally. It's hard to name a match in the last 8-10 months that was better.
- Brock Lesner's return has been handled properly. It was kept quiet, it was done with shock value, and it was done with a huge impact. Prepare yourself for HHH to come defend his father-in-law and set up Lesnar/HHH 2 at Wrestlemania.
- A close second to Punk's amazing, continued work is the work of Paul Heyman. The video and denial of working with the shield, enhancing an already dominating C.M. Punk, and trying to control Brock Lesner all show his true talent in the business. You love to hate him or, in my case, love to love him and watch as he slithers away from another devious plot unscathed.
- The Shield is still hot and i love the videos and attacks on the major stars of the company. It was announced last night after Raw went off the air that there will be a 3-on-3 elimination tag match at Elimination chamber pitting The Shield against Ryback, Cena, and Sheamus. I like the idea, i just wish they would have taken it a step further and made it an actual chamber match, War Games style. You can wish in one hand and crap in the other, eh?
Misses:
- Where, in the bluest of hells, was Dolph Ziggler? He is your biggest up-and-coming star and you can't spare a 15 minute segment for a promo? Or a quick match? I hope this doesn't deflate his push. It went from "I HATE CENA" to.... well, nothing really? I know he is going to be displayed more on Smackdown now, but damn. Brutal fail on the part of WWE writing.
- I am glad Mark Henry is back. I really am. I like having some super heavyweight matches. I even like him squashing fan-favorite wrestlers to make his return. What i have a problem with is Rey getting destroyed. We're supposed to believe Rey has a chance to win the chamber? Plus, at this point in time, Rey is made of glass. I wouldn't be surprise if he legitimately misses time from the attack last night.
- I know The Rock brings media attention that no normal wrestler could over bring to the WWE. I know he sells PPV's (somehow) and brings in more casual fans, especially to Wrestlemania. However, I need someone to explain to me how i am supposed to give a damn about the WWE title when it's not on the show. If it wasn't for C.M. Punk, i would have forgotten there even was a WWE title last night. I was happy to see The Rock return. I am not happy to see he is too busy to actually wrestle. I guess milk commercials are more important than "the people."
Ultimately, the rest of the show was neither hit or miss. It was build to rivalries that could fall into either category. I'll focus more on those as they develop in the coming weeks.
One of my biggest concerns is who will ultimately come out of the Elimination Chamber match the #1 contender for the World Title. We don't know all the participants but I will still give my opinion.
Either Ziggler, if he is forced to join, or Orton need to win this match. Why? Because I've had enough of the World Title belonging to someone that either panders to a certain ethnic group or a champ the degrades them. Talk about getting some cheap heat or a cheap pop. Ironically enough, it's not getting Del Rio over like they thought it would. The crowd is practically dead when he does anything. I also think his in-ring work as been pretty sloppy. Orton needs something to motivate him. Ziggler can main event any day of the week now. It's time to restore some prestige to the World Title.
All-in-all, the build to Wrestlemania looks good. The return of the Undertaker, Rock/Cena, HHH/Lesner alone is a hell of a show. When you include quality stars such as Ziggler, Punk, Orton, Ryback and the Shield, it can only get better. Let's just hope the WWE plans to avoid crap acts like Kahli, the leprechaun, Santino, Zack Ryder, and 3MB going forward.
No comments:
Post a Comment