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GOALS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS - RAW 4-9-12

RAW - 09/04/2012
What needs to be accomplished on this week’s show?
•WWE did a fantastic job coming out of the gates after Wrestlemania and needs to sustain that momentum this week. Brock is back, what will he say? How will John Cena respond?
•Extreme Rules is on the horizon and we need to build that show up!
•Lord Tensai’s debut last week was lost in the shuffle. I’d like to see him make more of an impact this week against someone who can bump better for him
•Eve and Zack Ryder. I’m not sure why I’m even mentioning this as WWE has gone out of their way to bury Ryder, while Eve cut a bland promo last week. I’m curious to see where they go with them and hopefully create a story that is leading to Ryder giving Eve her what is coming to her otherwise it is pure sabotage in my book
•Miz. WWE gave Miz a nice win at Wrestlemania and on Raw the next night. Let’s hope he doesn’t fall through the cracks just yet
•Punk and Jericho. Good, violent angle last week. I’m interested to see the follow up. I think the time for talking is done and a nice pull apart is in order
•We know John Laurinaitis is in charge, I don’t think it needs to be the focus of the show, although I do love face time for David Otunga
•Lastly you brought Brock back and perhaps got new eyeballs. Don’t ruin it with doing too much antics with the guest host to show-off your awesome entertainment and comedy skills
Show Breakdown

1. WWE is going with the theme that Brock legitimizes them, yet then starts off the show by telling us that the Three Stooges are on the show. I fear for what is to come.

2. Interesting opening segment. I like the pull apart aspect of it, but two things I don’t care for is 1. Lesnar being aligned with Ace and 2. Why the World Champion is involved in separating the two men.

3. I still don’t know why Cena has to have that stupid smirk on his face.

4. I really hope WWE ends this Ziggler and Swagger partnership, they are just treading water and it does neither for either man.

5. WWE’s treatment of Ziggler is almost criminal.

6. At the start of that backstage segment with Cena and Laurinaitis, I thought we were already going back to Cena doing bad comedy instead we went back to Cena making snide remarks about The Rock, but also cutting a solid promo. Laurinaitis choice for Cena’s opponent wasn’t really a good one in my main man David Otunga.

7. I like that WWE is following up on the Henry-Punk match from last week and the fact that Henry won that match.

8. I watch Santino in these backstage segments and I just don’t see his style of comedy appealing to anyone over ten years of age. I sometimes wonder if he’s a hindrance to the product like John Cena when they try to do WWE writers comedy. I know he gets a great reaction from the audience, but I question whether that’s enough.

9. Just like Ziggler, I find Cody’s extended feud with Big Show as treading water. It’s even more criminal to have Cody jobbing to Truth and Kofi even with the distraction.

10. I had to fast forward the backstage segment with Santino and the Three Stooges. WWE just doesn’t get it. Vince wants this to be a menu that appeals to everyone, but that’s not how business works. You pick a target market and you go with it. You can’t have Brock appealing to one group of people, bad comedy appealing to the man in charge and all the other nonsense in between.

11. Funny Albert chant from the crowd.

12. I like the replays of the Jericho-Punk segment from last week and how it has affected Punk’s mindset.

13. Half way through Raw and I must say this Washington crowd is pissing me off compared to perhaps the best crowd in Raw history last week. Probably through no fault of their own as alot to live up to.

14. Punk-Jericho segment ran a bit long, but picked up once Jericho came on the tron. Nice closing line with Jericho calling Punk, “CM Drunk” and Punk saying it’s now all about kicking Jericho’s ass.

15. I like that they found a way out of this Henry-Punk match. I was going to say Punk should immediately give chase when Jericho came out, but luckily Mark Henry attacked him so the whole thing makes sense. I can always applaud paying attention to the details!

16. Another great angle with Jericho and Punk. The crowd seemed like they just want to get their chants in, but it worked for me. WWE did the pull apart with Cena and Brock so they couldn’t do it here, but this segment was an even better idea in my book.

17. Well Ryder is out in a bad spot following a killer Punk-Jericho angle, what a surprise and I’m sure he’ll be beaten quickly as WWE continues to destroy him. What a company...

18. I like that WWE is paying attention to detail on the Sheamus getting physical with the ref storyline since it rarely happens therefore when  it does it should be addressed.

19. Well this Del Rio-Ryder match tells the audience will tell you who is going to be created and when it’s going to happen. I wrote that before the match was even over.

20. The Three Stooges segment was a tad cringe worthy hearing the audience reaction to it. I’m glad it ended with Kane though and I never thought I’d be saying that.

21. Solid promo from Henry and hyping another match for next week is always a good thing. Of course he said he’d be winning the wrong title, which was amusing.

22. I love that Brock Lesnar promo scripted or not!

23. Love that video package for Undertaker-Triple H and the different talents commenting on it, although I’d like to see them do this for current talent going forward.

24. I think WWE could do more to hype the live blast from the past Smackdown tomorrow. Dedicate a segment to it and show graphics of some of the different legends that will be appearing especially after the last rating for a live Tuesday special.

25. Cena really needs to stop with the arrogant smiles during his matches; it doesn’t endear him to anyone.

26. Standard ending to the show to build a match between Brock and Cena. I like Brock’s facial expressions.

What this show accomplished?

The Good

•Brock-Cena. Great story told tonight. The pull apart was good. Brock bloodying Cena was good, Cena’s backstage promo was good and Brock’s backstage promo was absolute money. Also Brock’s facial reactions at the end were tremendous

•Punk-Jericho. It was a bit long, but very effective. Also big props to protecting Mark Henry

•Undertaker-Triple H video package

•Laurinaitis relationships with Teddy and Eve. I’m curious to see how this unfolds as long as it doesn’t become a show focus

•Building intrigue for what consequences Sheamus will pay for striking an official

The Bad

•I said it was important that Miz didn’t fall through the cracks. I liked that they at least did a segment to acknowledge him, but still it felt a little like falling through the cracks

•Lord Tensai. It’s just not connecting with me so far

•Sheamus involved in the pull apart brawl. You don’t have Orton, Punk or Jericho out there holding people back, but Sheamus is involved. Pay attention to details WWE!

•Three Stooges. WWE knows this stuff suck, which is why they have Kane get involved, yet they continue to do it. Vince must really get off on this intermixing with bad movies

•John Cena awkward smirks and smiling during his matches. I’m not sure if this is going to be part of an upcoming storyline, but Cena seems to be smirking more than ever

•Ryder is a jobber. No confrontation with Cena, Kane or Eve and he is definitely paying his dues for building his own fan base

•Aligning Brock with Ace. I’m not sure I approve of this. It would be one thing if it was Vince McMahon, but I don’t think John Laurinaitis needs to be associated with Brock going forward

•The jobbing of Cody and Ziggler. Just criminal and shows no foresight from WWE

Overall Thoughts

•I had alot of points in the bad column, but it’s not fully reflective of the show. The top two storylines were great (Punk/Jericho/Henry-Cena/Lesnar), but everything underneath seems to be missing something or going the wrong direction

What needs to be accomplished on next week’s show?

•WWE is rushing Cena-Brock and Brock isn’t on the show next week so they need to really make this match feel important next week. It’s a Wrestlemania calibre match headlining the first B show post Wrestlemania

•Announce the Jericho-Punk match for Extreme Rules and what the stipulation will be

•What’s next for Miz?

•Protect great talents like Cody and Dolph!

Feedback: revinsamuel@rogers.com