WrestleRant
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact
Picture

Raw 1,000 Review - July 23, 2012

7/24/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
WWE Champion CM Punk shocks the world by attacking The Rock.
Hilarious segment to open the show featuring the reuniting of D-Generation X. I was extremely glad to see X-Pac, Road Dogg, and Billy Gunn return and play their roles very well. This promo featured a ton of fun humor and having Damien Sandow make his Raw debut interrupting DX was brilliant. He received excellent heat and this was a great way of getting him over with the Raw crowd. Fun start to the show for sure.

Good six-man tag team match with World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus, Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara defeating Chris Jericho, Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio. Given the fact that this was the first ever encounter between Mysterio and Cara, that should've meant more than it did, but the action was fine for what it was. The finish felt anticlimactic, but at least they showed dissension between Ziggler and Jericho to tease a future feud between the two. Adding Jim Ross to commentary was a nice touch, but why was it only this contest and not for the entire night?

Throwaway match with Brodus Clay quickly squashing Jack Swagger. Wasn't Swagger starting to feud with Ryback as of last week? It's nice to see the commentators mention Swagger's recent losing ways, so maybe it's leading  to something. If nothing else, seeing Dude Love return to dance with Clay was a fun flashback, but I would've liked to see Clay clash with Rikishi or even Godfather given their similarities.

Strange segment featuring AJ and Daniel Bryan. Obviously, the wedding was just as boring as most people expected, but thankfully, it was over rather quickly. It's a shame Bryan and AJ won't be rejoining forces after all, as I loved them as a couple earlier this year, but I guess it wouldn't make much sense storyline-wise. I must say that naming AJ as the new Raw General Manager was a bit of a shock, but why? To make Bryan's life a living hell? It seems like only a temporary move, but there are far worse decisions they could've made regarding the GM position.

Solid promo from The Rock. He had a fun verbal exchange with a frustrated Daniel Bryan and another strong verbal exchange with CM Punk, foreshadowing a feud between the two down the line. Announcing that he'll be facing the WWE Champion at Royal Rumble is a strong sell for the pay-per-view, and gives viewers something to look forward to in coming months.

Picture
Kane and Undertaker, the Brothers of Destruction, reunite on Raw.
Great match with The Miz defeating Christian to win the Intercontinental Championship. They have excellent chemistry and provided a well-paced match-up that surprisingly ended with Miz capturing the title. Miz focused on Christian's "injury" throughout the contest, so Captain Charisma of course has an out for losing. While I would've liked to see Miz win the U.S. title from Santino, at least he made history by becoming a Triple Crown Champion on Raw 1,000. I hope to see this feud continue heading into SummerSlam in a few weeks.

Strong segment featuring Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman, and Stephanie McMahon. Everyone was great on the mic here, and both HHH and Heyman showed fantastic intensity. Adding Stephanie to the mix was a nice surprise and she fit in perfectly. Lesnar may not have gotten the upper hand on this show, but he was at least able to get some offense in on HHH and give us a sneak peak of their pending SummerSlam contest. Also, Lesnar looked to be in awesome shape, as he didn't look all that fit to compete upon his return to the company earlier this year.

Fun match with Lita defeating Heath Slater with the help of the APA as well as the other Legends Slater has encountered in recent weeks. The return of the APA was a pleasant surprise, and they were in tremendous shape as well. Having all of the alumni that Slater faced in the last month was a logical, yet great move to feature them all on the show. I honestly didn't expect Lita to be Slater's blow-off opponent, but she too looked great in the ring and was able to hit her signature spots. On a side note, Slater sold that Clothesline from Hell from JBL like a champ.

Awesome segment that featured the reuniting of Brothers of Destruction. I was pleased to see Jinder Mahal emerge and point out that he and the others who accompanied him had been overlooked and demanded attention. Undertaker received the major pop that he deserved and the double team maneuvers from he and Kane was a great nostalgic moment. The beating those jobbers took will probably be the highlights of their respective careers.

Excellent WWE Championship match between CM Punk and John Cena. Sure, it didn't feel as special as it should've been, but that's mostly because it was given one week's build and little hype throughout the night despite the graphics shown. It of course wasn't as great as their classics from last year, but it was still a pretty good match that involved decent action. Was Big Show getting involved twice really necessary? He wasn't even mentioned throughout the entire show, so it was predictable he'd be interfering, but why twice? Nonetheless, it allowed a non-finish for Punk to retain the title, although I didn't like the fact there was a disqualification finish to a WWE title match on Raw 1,000. The Rock saving Cena was a cool moment, and CM Punk turning heel by ambushing Rock was an even bigger shock. They've been teasing the turn for a few weeks now (as well as Punk on his Twitter), so it made sense, but I certainly left me intrigued and looking forward to what occurs next week.

Overall, a fantastic show that was very fun throughout and surely captured the Raw 1,000 feel. I was a bit disappointed Stone Cold wasn't on the show since he basically revolutionized the program in the 90s, but at least they showed a video package of his feud with Mr. McMahon. Speaking of McMahon, it was a nice touch to have him kick off the show and simply say "thank you" to the fans, which was reminiscent of his appearance on the very first episode of Raw. I enjoyed the changes they made to the set and production, despite the fact I'm not a huge fan of the new opening theme song. Charlie Sheen's appearances throughout the night were decent in small doses and pretty surprising since most people (myself included) thought he bailed on WWE after closing his Twitter recently. Lastly, they needed to close their biggest show in recent memory on a major bang, and they did just that by turning Punk heel. While they should've done more to hype next week's aftermath show, they at least gave viewers something to look forward to for the remainder of the summer. This show was a giant step forward for WWE, and I'm confident that it will be smooth sailing from here.


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    #AskGSM
    Battle Of The Belts
    Cruiserweight Classic
    Halftime Heat
    Hidden Gems
    Interviews
    Lists/Rankings
    Mae Young Classic
    Mixed Match Challenge
    News
    NJPW
    NWA Shockwave
    NXT PLEs
    Opinion
    Previews
    Retro Reviews
    Reviews
    RJ's Two Cents
    Satire
    Slammy Awards
    SNME
    SummerSlam Recall
    The Deadly Draw
    The World Is A Vampire
    Tribute To The Troops
    Women's Eliminator
    Worlds Collide
    WrestleMania Recall
    WWE Draft
    WWE Network Specials
    WWE PLEs
    WWE Starrcade


    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    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

©2025 WrestleRant. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact