WrestleRant
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • WRR
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • About
    • Contact

Columnist Corner

Monday Night Raw Review - October 1, 2012

10/2/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
Ryback stares down WWE Champion CM Punk.
Entertaining opening segment to kick off the show. WWE Champion CM Punk once again delivered great mic work, as did Dolph Ziggler, even though his involvement here seemed a but out of place. However, I'm glad they actually acknowledged the angle where it was said that AJ would be fired if she laid her hands on anyone (insert juvenile sex joke here), so putting her on probation was logical. Kane and Bryan were entertaining as always here and the ending moments were both funny and mildly confusing at the same time.

Fun match with Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara defeating Primo and Epico to advance in the WWE Tag Team title tournament. Both teams have great chemistry, and as I always say, Mysterio and Cara are the perfect fit. Their unique matching attire this week was cool and further helps establish them as a tandem. Having Prime Time Players come out and observe was a nice touch given the fact the two teams are currently feuding. Spreading the tournament matches throughout all of of this week's WWE programming is also good booking.

Impressive outing from United States Champion Antonio Cesaro defeating Brodus Clay. This match was all about Cesaro and rightfully so. He has amazing potential and it's great to see him score a big victory (literally). The finish was very cool, but I'm surprised they had Clay lose so decisively while also cutting a portion of his entrance. Nonetheless, this brings back more prestige to the U.S. title and I hope to see Cesaro continue the strong momentum going forward.

Good match between Intercontinental Champion The Miz and Zack Ryder. Seeing how I've been anxiously awaiting a rematch between these two since the night after WrestleMania 28, I throughly enjoyed it while it lasted. Granted, it didn't last long, but it was a nice win for Miz, who desperately needs victories after losing so many non-title matches. I'd love to see Ryder in contention for the title at some point, as that could make for a fun feud.

Horrendous debate between World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus and Big Show. What was the true point of this segment? Sheamus's humor here was worse than that of John Cena's and did nothing to further his feud with Show. As challenger, Show should be making Sheamus look vulnerable as champ going into Hell in a Cell, especially given his sheer size. They still have time to rebuild this rivalry, but as of now, I'm not intrigued whatsoever.

Disappointing match between Ryback and Tensai. They had a fine match on last week's SmackDown, but sadly, they couldn't recreate it on Raw. It mostly consisted of strikes and the botched finisher came off really bad. However, everyone botches from time to time, and it could've easily been a mutual problem between Ryback and Tensai. Nonetheless, Jim Ross and Michael Cole did a nice job of covering up the botch by saying Tensai blocked it and that Ryback was using more weapons in his arsenal.

Picture
The Miz scores the Skull Crushing Finale on Zack Ryder.
Fine match with Divas Champion Eve defeating Beth Phoenix. Both Divas are tremendously talented, so it was a shame to see their match end so quickly. However, that should come as now surprise in today's age. They seemingly had a feud running as of last week, so it's strange to see it blown off within a week.

Throwaway match between Heath Slater and Santino Marella. It was mostly comedic filler, but it wasn't until after the match that the Encore made their impact. Brutally attacking Santino helped them get heat and giving them some mic time helped establish them as well. The group may consist of only three jobbers, but it has potential if utilized correctly.

Solid match between World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus and Damien Sandow. This was easily Sandow's best WWE match to date and Sheamus helped him look strong in defeat. The two work well together and had the match of the night by a long shot. Although I didn't like the finish of Sheamus scoring yet another victory while delivering a Brogue Kick to both Sandow and Rhodes at the same time, Sandow's first pin-fall loss came at the hands of the World Champion, so I guess that makes him look somewhat credible.

Strong segment featuring Jim Ross and WWE Champion CM Punk. Of course, Ross has a track record of being humiliated in his hometown every time WWE visits and I could've sworn they were taking that route yet again, but I'm very glad I was wrong. This was the best we've seen Ross on the mic in a long time (not counting commentary), and Punk once again was excellent in his heel role. Punk interrupting Ross in his hometown called for a desperate attempt to garner heel heat, but it was still done effectively. To top it all off, Ryback's interference at the end was also fantastic in helping tease an eventual feud between him and Punk. Extremely effective segment all the way around and the highlight of the show by far.

Decent match between Alberto Del Rio and Kofi Kingston. We've seen it numerous times before, so it didn't feel fresh, but at least it was a good way to follow up Del Rio's attack on Randy Orton by scoring a clean victory. I really hope Kingston breaks away from Truth in the near future, as Truth at ringside is just becoming a distraction (to Kofi and to the viewers) these days. If nothing else, Ricardo Rodriguez was hilarious on commentary alongside Ross and Cole.

Great main event match with WWE Tag Team Champions Kane and Daniel Bryan defeating WWE Champion CM Punk and Dolph Ziggler. The match itself was very well-wrestled given the four workers involved, but it felt like it had zero significance. Featuring the tag champs in the main event was a breath of fresh air, but having Kane pin Punk seemed odd to this viewer since they attempted to build Punk up throughout the night.

Overall, a decent show that had its shining moments, but wasn't as good as weeks past. My enjoyability of the show seemed to decrease by mid-show, but the final hour was strong enough to reignite my interest. The biggest flaw of this week's edition was that it felt rushed, which was evident by the opening segment running long. The absence of John Cena didn't seem to have much of an impact at all, but it's an interesting experiment if they opt to not feature him on the show as often going forward. Not a lot of build was done for Hell in a Cell, which is fine since they still have plenty of time before the event. That being said, they still have plenty of time to hype the pay-per-view while also maintaining the awesome angles they have going at the moment.


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    #AskGSM
    Cruiserweight Classic
    Halftime Heat
    Hidden Gems
    Lists/Rankings
    Mae Young Classic
    Mixed Match Challenge
    News
    NJPW
    NWA Shockwave
    Opinion
    Previews
    Retro Reviews
    Reviews
    RJ's Two Cents
    Satire
    SummerSlam Recall
    The Deadly Draw
    Tribute To The Troops
    Women's Eliminator
    Worlds Collide
    WrestleMania Recall
    WWE Draft
    WWE Starrcade


    Archives

    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    RSS Feed

©2022 WrestleRant. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • WRR
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • About
    • Contact