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411’s Instant Analysis 10.08.12: WWE Monday Night Raw

October 9, 2012 | Posted by Sat

Welcome to this week’s Instant Analysis of Monday Night Raw. I’m your humble reviewer, Chad Nevett and I have returned after two weeks away. I was working the afternoon/evening shift the past two weeks and am glad that’s over. But, I’m only back this week before being absent next Monday, because I’m getting married this weekend and will be on my honeymoon next Monday. During the past two weeks, I didn’t watch any WWE television programs, so I’m a little behind. I read recaps and have some idea about what’s going on. CM Punk is still a jerk, Sheamus is running for president against the Big Show, and Vince McMahon hates football and will be on tonight to tell us his plans to destroy the NFL? Is that right? I guess we’ll see. Let’s get to it…

SEGMENT ONE: John Cena is Back, Too

Apparently, John Cena was gone for the past two weeks, too. During that time, he didn’t really think of anything interesting to say. He wants to fight CM Punk. Again. I assume CM Punk doesn’t want to fight him. Again. So… uh… I guess they’ll fight if Cena is cleared to work at Hell in a Cell? See, the thing about bringing Cena back and putting him at the top of the show to, hopefully, pop the ratings a little is that you need him to actually do or say something that makes tuning in worthwhile. That didn’t happen here.

Rating: 2.0 out of 10

SEGMENT TWO: Ryback vs. Primo & Epico
Match Result: Ryback pinned Primo AND Epico
Match Length: Around two and a half minutes

God bless Jim Ross and JBL for their efforts to make it seem like Primo and Epico are actually a challenge of any kind for anyone. I mean, if you’d been watching ever since they lost the tag titles (and, during their reign, actually…), you’d know that that’s just not true. Never mind that they’re facing Ryback and would obviously lose. The talented pair has been buried for so long that it takes more than JR and JBL yelling about their accolades to make beating them mean much. But, hey, Ryback needed a recovery match after his flub on Raw last week, I’m told.

Rating: 5.0 out of 10

SEGMENT THREE: ~~Brodus Clay vs. R-Truth~~ Imaginary Child Dance Party

What, was Vince on the toilet and needed them to fill two minutes before he could come out? Because that’s the only explanation that makes any modicum of sense for this dumb, inane, waste of time.

Rating: 0.0 out of 10

SEGMENT FOUR: Vince McMahon’s State of the WWE Address

Huh. They aren’t just going back to CM Punk/John Cena, they’re going back to CM Punk/Vince McMahon, which was a large driving force behind CM Punk’s rise in 2011. Cena was just a proxy for McMahon (much like the Rock was at times when facing Austin) since Punk’s battle was with the WWE itself, not simply its top star. So, here we are again, with Punk concerned about respect and, while Cena may be taking the main events, it’s Vince McMahon putting those main events together. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before and I kind of wish we’d gotten the State of the WWE Address proper. I guess I’m curious to see if they actually do anything new with the Punk/Vince fight, but I’m not holding my breath.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

SEGMENT FIVE: #1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament Semi-Finals Match – The Prime Time Players vs. Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara
Match Result: Rey Mysterio pinned Darren Young
Match Length: Around seven and a half minutes

The tag team tournament is something that I did miss seeing while I was out the past two weeks. Like my esteemed boss here at 411mania, I’ve really hated what’s become of the tag team division in the WWE and seeing it make a small comeback has been a welcome surprise. Of course, the negative is that we’re still not getting great tag matches yet, partly because it will take time before the division has been built back up to really deliver like it should. This match was fine and had some nice moments, but was missing something. It could be that a team made up of Mysterio and Sin Cara is a bit more specialized and doesn’t immediately sync up with other teams. Glad to see tag matches get a bit more focus (with an emphasis on teams that could last longer than two weeks) and am looking forward to seeing these matches improve over the coming months.

Rating: 6.0 out of 10

SEGMENT SIX: Sheamus vs. Wade Barrett
Match Result: Sheamus won via DQ
Match Length: A bit under 13 and a half minutes

This was some good stuff. I understand Wade Barrett not jumping immediately into the World Title picture, but, if this match was any indication, after Sheamus gets done with the Big Show, he and Barrett could have a good feud. Both are bigger men and they seem to bring out a little extra in the other. It wasn’t anything big, but I really dug the stairs spot they did where Barrett was thrown towards them, jumped over, and, then, kicked them into Sheamus. It’s the sort of move you’d expect from a smaller, more agile wrestler, not one of these two guys. They have very complementary styles, leaning more towards brawling than technical wrestling, while also being able to break out some technical stuff when necessary. The DQ finish keeps that potential feud alive and, oddly, has Sheamus in a position where he’s threatened by three different big men. It’s a change from his last two big feuds with Alberto Del Rio and Daniel Bryan, and I like the contrast so far.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10

SEGMENT SEVEN: Antonio Cesaro vs. Tyson Kidd
Match Result: Antonio Cesaro pinned Tyson Kidd
Match Length: A bit under four minutes

More showcase than anything and Tyson Kidd is the perfect opponent for Cesaro. Great in the ring, agile, and able to take that flying European Uppercut that looks so damn awesome. He placed a good emphasis on Cesaro’s power, while getting in some offense. Also, Cesaro’s nipples/areola don’t look THAT big to me…

Rating: 6.0 out of 10

SEGMENT EIGHT: Dolph Ziggler & Alberto Del Rio vs. Team Hell No
Match Result: Kane pinned Dolph Ziggler
Match Length: Around 17 minutes

Some really good work from all men involved. Ziggler and Del Rio worked well as a team, while Bryan and Kane kept up their ‘fight with each other almost as much as their opponents’ gimmick that is nearing the end of its lifespan, I presume. There’s only so long that the dysfunctional tag team can ‘luck’ into victory before it grows tiresome and, here, it seemed more like they simply outlasted Ziggler and Del Rio by hanging on long enough to take advantage of their fatigue. I have no real criticisms about this match. Entertaining from start to finish and I’d be ecstatic to see matches like this every week.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

SEGMENT NINE: Larry King Now with ~~the Miz~~ Kofi Kingston

Celebrity appearance + little effort put into advancing midcard title feud = Oh, hey, baseball is on…!

Rating: 3.0 out of 10

SEGMENT TEN: #1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament Semi-Finals Match – Team Rhodes Scholars vs. Santino Marella & Zack Ryder
Match Result: Cody Rhodes pinned Santino Marella
Match Length: Just over three minutes

Wow, a surprisingly short match for its place in this tournament. More a squash match than anything as Rhodes and Sandow dominated this match, only looking like the faces were threats for all of four seconds. There was a larger focus on the Encore attacking Santino after the match. I’ve read a bit about this new faction, but this didn’t impress me. Nor did the tag match, though that seemed more by design than the talent involved.

Rating: 4.5 out of 10

SEGMENT ELEVEN: WWE Divas Championship Match – Eve (C) vs. Kaitlyn
Match Result: Eve made Kaitlyn tap out
Match Length: A little under three minutes

The execution wasn’t great — sloppy and choppy — but the basic story of this match was good. Kaitlyn loses because of her ankle where even her offense weakened her and let Eve take over. Very simple and allowed for a more direct flow of the match. It’s the sort of thing you can build matches around and allow for the Divas to work on.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10

SEGMENT TWELVE: CM Punk vs. Vince McMahon
Match Result: Punk escaped through the crowd…?
Match Length: I didn’t hear any bell…

I enjoyed the backstage segments building to this match throughout the show. Paul Heyman in particular sold this match as something big as he kept trying to make it not happen until it became apparent that he couldn’t stop it and, then, turned his eye towards the only way that Punk could win in the long-term.

I can’t remember the last time I saw a match as strangely energetic, vicious, and unpredictable in the WWE. Vince isn’t an in-ring technician, but he brings passion and cruelty that CM Punk can more than equal. Once the Kendo Stick was introduced and McMahon had the title in the ring… that was just a fantastic moment. You could almost hear him say something like “You think you’re the best in the world, you think you’re the WWE Champion… well, I am the WWE!” or something equally cheesy/epic. The Ryback/Cena stuff felt like a slight copout when this segment seemed like it needed a strong finish between the two men. Still, a surprisingly great performance that got me engaged and excited.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10

FINAL THOUGHTS

Segment of the Night: CM Punk vs. Vince McMahon

Trash Segment of the Night: The Imaginary Child Dance Party

Final Analysis: Well, I did not miss the three-hour Raws and this one could have had its first half hour chopped off and not lost anything. However, the overall show was good. A good through line with Punk and McMahon that was built backstage well. Some solid to good tag team matches. Sheamus vs. Barrett was also an entertaining match. Not everything worked, but enough did and it ended very strongly. Like a lot of three-hour Raws that I’ve seen, if you cut out the worst hour, you’d be left with a really good show.

Verdict: 6.8

411 RATINGS SCALE:
0 – 0.9: Torture
1 – 1.9: Extremely Horrendous
2 – 2.9: Very Bad
3 – 3.9: Bad
4 – 4.9: Poor
5 – 5.9: Not So Good
6 – 6.9: Average
7 – 7.9: Good
8 – 8.9: Very Good
9 – 9.9: Amazing
10: Virtually Perfect