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Onto my thoughts on the show:
The opening segment was just great on so many levels. For WWE to invest over 25% of a show built around the return of The Rock to CM Punk, that says a lot about where they want him to be and the importance of his match with Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania. I have to admit that I thought they could have accomplished the same with less time, because the beginning of the back and forth between Jericho and Punk was wearing on me.
I do have to say I am really tiring of hearing older talents talk about how they are the last of the old guard. We know that it's true but every time it's stated on TV, it's basically telling the audience 'do not invest in the current crop because they are worthless' in a subliminal way. It's one thing if the end game here is to get the new guard wins to "prove them" to the older, disenfranchised fans but the reality is that the creative process is a much larger issue right now than unproven names. So, when Jericho began talking about people who blazed trails and fought to get to the top, my eyes were glazing over.
CM Punk turned up the intensity of the promo with his declaration that Jericho wasn't upset over any "wannabes" but that Punk was the man when Jericho never truly got to be. From that point on, the idea of these two awesome wrestlers who don't like each other trying to win the title at Wrestlemania became this incredible larger than life concept and by the end, they had done a masterful job of building up their match.
Punk vs. Daniel Bryan was very, very good, although the outside distractions of the General Managers took away some of the luster. One of the things that made their match on the live Smackdown so great was that they had time to work and put together a great match before we went into the shenanigans but here it was almost flip flipped. As a storyline point to build the Teddy Long vs. Johnny Ace issues, it was fine, as long as somewhere down the line, we finally get a clean, decisive blow-off between the two champions. Bryan's new character continues to shine and it made sense for Sheamus to get involved to build some heat.
When Ace and Long started scuffling, I was ready to throw my hands up because all the focus on Punk was gone, but then Jericho attacked again, locking him in the Lion Tamer and making it all about his quest to destroy Punk and take the title. Great weaving of the storylines. Absolutely loved it. This entire scenario only built the intrigue for Jericho vs. Punk at Mania. Before Raw, I was going into the PPV hoping they would be able to be given enough time to have a good match, since you have two other major attractions. After this Raw, WWE now has three major attractions. If anyone could hope to be the modern day equivalent of Randy Savage vs. Rick Steamboat at Wrestlemania III, it's these two. I hope, hope, hope. hope, hope it happens.
Kelly Kelly vs. Nikki Bella was a throwaway segment, although Kelly whipping out the Bob Backlund bridge finish did pop me.
Hey Miz, thanks for coming! John Cena's win over The Miz was either the sign of his doom going down into the mid-card or WWE has something planned for him going forward and they are really hiding it well. Miz cutting a promo that he does everything the company asks of him, doing all this media and going to Russia was a completely moronic, dumb idea. He's supposed to be this self-centered arrogant villain, so why in the world would anyone care or hate him for this? Can you imagine Arn Anderson or Tully Blanchard cutting a promo about appearances they had to do in Atlanta for Jim Crockett Promotions while trying to draw money? Nope and neither can anyone else. The match itself was the usual bout you'd see out of Cena, but Miz really needs to get his groove back or he'll be remembered alongside Great Khali when it comes to former champions.
The Triple Threat tag match was a breath of fresh air in that they gave it time to develop over several segments and the work was fine. I like the idea of Ziggler and Swagger as a Midnight Express style working heel tag team but that's likely never ever going to happen. It would put them on both brands technically, although, hey, everyone is on both brands now. Epico and Primo are severely underrated as workers, especially Primo. I thought the entire thing was fine until.....
Kane returns and destroys just about everyone in the match. This was flawed on so many levels. One, he hasn't been gone long enough for it to be a shocking return that means something. Two, you just invested two segments into six wrestlers and expected the fans to take them seriously, then you turn them into cannon fodder. They could have easily just booked (throwing out names here) Curt Hawkins vs. Jey Uso and had Kane hit the ring and kill them in 30 seconds, then say, "Now I'm really angry" and you'd have gotten the same across without sacrificing so many talents, including names like Ziggler that you are trying to make fans buy into as guys rising to the next level. I am guessing this is the start of Kane vs. Zack Ryder for Wrestlemania.
The Eve Torres promo was so forced. Her character flipped so quick that in a lot of ways, it's a disservice to her. One week, she is crying over Zack. The next she is tonguing down Cena. The third, she is admitting she used Zack. Now, she blames men for being weak for her. It all happened so fast that it's a huge leap for anyone to take it seriously. I am sure it will catch on, and the crowd was already all over her, but this might have been achieved in a stronger fashion with some longer term planning. It just comes across like someone threw this at her to see what would happen and how she would react, as opposed to a long through out turn and storyline.
Sheamus and Big Show vs. Mark Henry and Cody Rhodes was obviously the victim of some time cutting. One has to feel for Henry, who has been doing an incredible job of working hurt and going on the road while being booked in useless segments that do nothing but undercut his excellent work prior to the injury. The upside to the segment was that Cody Rhodes is doing an incredible job finding his groove and work as a heel. He's always been a great, underrated talker but now he's getting the time and storyline to really show what he has inside. He's absolutely created a scenario where fans will be rooting for Show to knock him out at Wrestlemania.
By the way, how strange was it to see WWE showing Show's bloody mouth and face in all its crimson glory from the Mayweather angle? Usually they just change all footage of that sort to black and white, so did something slip through or was it foreshadowing for Hell in A Cell?
So, after a pretty "eh, it was OK" middle of the show, The Rock returned. Boy, I guess the stuff I reported last week got under his skin because he certainly seemed to be talking about "someone in the back" not happy that he's not around all the time and "someone" assuming he would be. Sure, you can say he was cutting a promo on John Cena and perhaps he was, but it seemed strange that he wouldn't just come out tear down Cena instead of using the verbiage he chose. Rock then went into his usual shtick, getting people to chant whatever catch phrases he came up with and plugging Twitter, which came across lame to me. Hey, I am here to kick this guy's ass, so let's get all of you to Tweet about it? Can you imagine that happening on any other TV series, much less competition? Me neither.
Rock, who had crib notes on his arm, seemed to basically recount the same points he always makes. The Kung Pow B**ch line was pretty funny, but it's just a play on the Fruity Pebbles joke that is already a year old. It would have come across much worse if it was anyone but Rock doing it, since the crowd was orgasmic for him, since he's Rock. It was the usual Chant Along with the Rock show until Cena hit the scene and strongly cut a promo designed to come off like a shooting work, cutting close to home by pointing out that Rock needed notes, was never around and wouldn't care if WWE was gone tomorrow, because all he cares about is himself. He then ripped on Rock, saying that he didn't respect Rock once he met him, didn't like Dwayne and it was Dwayne he was coming to kick the hell out of come Wrestlemania. It was a switching of the roles, with Rock now the guy doing the same old thing and Cena as the vibrant guy tearing down the complacent opposition.
Once Cena walked off, Rock did a great job of selling that for the first time, he was shaken by Cena and claiming that Cena talked a lot of trash when Rock wasn't there and now didn't give him a chance to get Cena back for it. Well, that was silly since Cena just tore him apart to his face and walked off while Johnson stood there waiting to return his lines. The best part of it was actually once Johnson delivered his closing line and stalked the ring, dropping a "mother f***er" to anyone who could read his lips and looking visibly pissed. When they went off the air, you had this feeling that a war was coming and it was two guys who hated each other, as opposed to a guy who smiles and another who shows up every so often, neither of whom seem like they are locked and loaded into a showdown. The segment was great and did a lot to add to their Mania bout, especially since Cena finally verbally slapped Johnson upside his head to his face. Now they just need to keep it up for the next month and if they can help it, prevent them from getting into it physically, unless its a massive insane pull apart (and by massive, I mean everyone in the locker room) in the closing moments of the go-home TV show.
A great step forward towards the Wrestlemania main events, infusing realistic reactions and goals into the sports-entertainment storylines. They were a taste of how good WWE could be all the time if Vince McMahon believed his audience wanted it that way. Jericho vs. Punk and Cena vs. Rock should have been, and were the focus, so I can excuse the other stuff, which was subpar.
Mike Johnson can be reached at Mike@PWInsider.com and followed on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/MikePWInsider. He recommends "Destination Truth: Memoirs of a Monster Hunter" by Josh Gates for your reading pleasure.
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