Monday, April 2, 2012

April 2, 2012 WWE RAW Review

This was a night of the WWE not giving fans what they wanted until the end.  It's back to normal after WrestleMania, so here we go...

The show starts with the all the RAW guys in a meeting with John Lauranaitis, who said he will use his new power to give the people what they want.  Punk interrupts and said they all considered him to be a giant toolbox.  Ace made a match for later: CM Punk v. Mark Henry for the WWE Title.  Lauranaitis used the term people power to describe his new powers as GM of both shows and this was the theme used all night by Cole.

The Rock came out to a huge ovation and he said he wanted to thank Cena for bringing it to the Rock like no one else has before.  They both made history and he thanked the people and said this was only the beginning.  He had a vision last night that he will become WWE Champion in the future.  Guess that means he'll be back.

Santino v. Jack Swagger v. Dolph Ziggler-US Title-This match was made by Ace in the opening segment.  This started off 2 on 1 until a pin attempt and then Ziggler and Swagger were at odds.  The finish was the cobra on Swagger.  Swagger, at one point, did a wheelbarrow on Santino in order for Ziggler to hit the rocker dropper.  Nothing match but afterwards, they went after Santino but he ran away up the ramp.  They chased after him but Brodus Clay stopped them.  Ziggler came running for him but Brodus hit his headbutt and Dolph went flying.  Then, Brodus' dancers came out and danced with Santino and Brodus.  Clay came across good here and it's the next step for his character to get out of those weekly squash matches.  *1/4

Lord Tensai w/Sakamoto v. Alex Riley-Sakamoto was Tensai's second and Tensai walked to the ring dressed like a samurai.  Tensai was described as a former WWE superstar who went to Japan and dominated there and now he's back to dominate the WWE.  They never acknowledged him as Albert or A-Train.  He used a lot of power moves and strikes.  Lots of YES chants and this was prevelent all night.  The finish was Tensai winning with his choke sit-out powerbomb.  After the match, he put the claw on Riley and it looked stupid.  The crowd was dead for this match.  *

CM Punk v. Mark Henry-WWE Title-This was the 10PM match and it was very enjoyable.  It was similar to the Henry/Cena match from a couple weeks ago but Punk kept getting hope spots that Henry kept shutting down.  Henry tried for a Vader Bomb and missed and then, Punk missed his springboard clothesline.  Punk hit two running knees in the corner and went for the bulldog but Henry held on to him and threw him outside and Punk got counted out.  This was a very fun little match that got some time too.  Afterwards, Henry did the World's Strongest Slam on the floor and Ace came out.  Johnny said that Punk was going to have to defend the title more often and Jericho came out through the crowd.  He said he was going to send Punk down the road to alcoholism just like his father.  He grabbed a bottle of liquor and poured it all over him and his head and face.  Jericho grabbed another bottle and smashed it over the back of Punk's head.  I liked this part and it felt dramatic.  Officials came down to help Punk.  The match was **1/2

Sheamus came out and before he could talk, Alberto Del Rio came out.  Huge Daniel Bryan chants and they were even booing Sheamus any time he talked or did anything.  Del Rio said Sheamus will lose the belt and that Lauranaitis agreed to give him a match with Sheamus on Smackdown and if he won he'd get a future shot at the title.  By this point, Del Rio's mic was giving out and Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick on him.  The fans were really shitting on this whole segment and on both guys.  They wanted to see Daniel Bryan and they did for a second.  Josh Matthews tried to interview him about his loss at Mania but he just stared at him and said nothing.  The crowd was hot for Bryan the entire night and that's all they gave to them.

Cody Rhodes v. Kofi Kingston-Nothing match and quick.  Big Show came out and showed pics of Cody's loss at Mania trying to embarrass him like how Cody did to him before.  This distracted Cody and Kofi hit Trouble in Paradise for the win.  *

Mark Henry and Abraham Washington were talking backstage.  Washington said that Henry needed a change and he wanted to represent him in the future.  He gave Henry a business card with AW initials on it.  The problem here was they never actually said who the guy was and I'm guessing no one remembered him at all from his time on Smackdown a while back.  We were supposed to already know who he was, I guess.

Eve came out and said she got her Mania moment and it was easy.  It's easy to manipulate any man except Ace and she said "let's hear it for people power."  That was the whole segment.  The crowd was hot for Ryder though during this.

The Miz v. Zack Ryder-Nothing match as Miz hit the Skull-Crushing Finale for the win.  Good heat for Ryder but they continue to bury him.  *

Cena came out to address the WWE Universe on his loss at Mania and he got huge heat.  He said we all take defeats in life, which was a quote from Ali.  There was speculation on how he'd react and if he would finally lash out against the WWE Universe.  He said he wouldn't.  He's a man and he admits defeat and if he let anyone down, he apologizes.  Lots of We Want Lesnar chants and some YES chants.  Cena went along with the YES chants and plugged Daniel Bryan on camera.  He called down The Rock because he has earned Cena's respect.  Brock Lesnar came out to a tremendous ovation, biggest of the night.  He came in, went to shake Cena's hand, and hit the F5 and the place was buzzing the whole time for Brock.

Bryan got a major reaction the entire night with lots of chants and he had just as much heat as The Rock did.  The crowd was hot for many things tonight but Bryan was probably #2 on the list right behind Brock.  The show as a whole decent except for the Henry/Punk match, the Jericho segment, and Lesnar coming out.  One gets the feeling that the WWE really doesn't understand what works in 2012 at all though when it comes to guys like Ryder and maybe Bryan.  Maybe it was just that crowd tonight but they need to experiment more with Bryan and keep that YES thing over everywhere.  Let's just hope they don't book Lesnar as a heel with Cena as a face.





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