You'd think that when taping a show that would be played on 'Merica's birthday, WWE would bring their A game. Heck, the company made a huge deal when Osama was killed, and they're famous for their patriotic characters.
Sadly, no matter how good this RAW was, it had to follow in the wake of CM Punk's amazing promo from last week. And with CM Punk nowhere in sight, just how good could this RAW be?
RECAP
Cena Opens the show, a main event is announced, and Vince is said to be on his way to the building. Pretty standard opening, but their addressing CM Punk's promo from last week so directly kinda takes the steam outta the angle.
Kelly Kelly and Eve Torres vs. The Bella Twins
Not much to say about this at all, as might be expected. It makes me sad to know that Beth Phoenix and Gail Kim are having great matches on Superstars, yet the TV audience sees matches like these. No wonder nobody can stand the Divas division.
VERDICT: BAD. VERY BAD.
Promo for Andy Levine pops up. I really wanna see what he can do in a real match, but I hope they take their time developing him.
Santino and Kozlov vs. Otunga and McGillicutty
Santino and Kozlov are great. They may not be the most technically sound, but damn if they aren't entertaining as all hell. Sadly, the team they're against is the opposite of entertaining. Otunga and McGillicutty are just so damn boring! This is a decent little tag match, but these four have actually had one better on Superstars. Still can't get over Nexus having the belts...
VERDICT: OK. There's always some entertainment to be had in a match with Santino.
ZACK RYDER SIGHTING! WWWYKI
Sargent Slaughter vs. Jack Swagger
Swagger makes Sarge angry and therefore IT'S MATCH TIME! I'm always a little leery of having legends past their prime step back in the ring, but this diversion was successful enough. Swagger beats up on Sarge and Evan Bourne makes the save. We get some July 4th goodness and the Bourne/Swagger feud is given one more piece of fuel to keep going.
VERDICT: HARMLESS. Sure, this diversion wasn't necessary, but it ate up like no time and was good fun.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio vs. R-Truth
There have been a lot of 3 and 4 way matches featuring these three, and this match reminds us why. BECAUSE THEY'RE GREAT AT THEM! There are some great three-man spots, and I honestly wasn't sure who was gonna take this one. In the end, the win goes to ADR (and a number one contender spot with it). Good decision, and an even better match.
VERDICT: MATCH OF THE NIGHT. These three always bring it.
Dolph and Vickie have a pretty silly segment. I'm not afraid to say that I actually enjoyed this segment, as it reminded me of some really old school heel/manager segments. It's also worth mentioning that Lawler's comments about Vickie at this point are not only unfunny, but just really dumb at this point.
Miz vs. Alex Riley
Another back and forth brawl between these two. Somehow that remains entertaining, mainly because the Miz has good ring psychology and Riley is SUPER over. It's ridiculous how much the fans love this guy. Miz also puts a good post-match beatdown on Riley.
VERDICT: GOOD. These two don't put on spectacular matches, but they're solid and have a decent story backing them.
The show ends with Vince and Cena having an argument about whether Punk should be reinstated. This angle has EVERYONE bringing their best to the table, and this is no exception. Vince and Cena both convincingly plead their case, and in the end, Punk is reinstated. Of course there's also the stipulation that Cena will be FIRED if he loses, which kinda takes some of the drama out of the match (which is kinda the opposite of its intention), but this is still a better angle than WWE has had in some time.
Overall, RAW tonight was just okay. It had its highs, but it felt a tad empty without the presence of CM Punk and without more than one extremely good match, it's just not terribly exciting.
Stay tuned for my second installment of The Internet is for Wrestling. Until then, check out the first installment and enjoy some wrestling!
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