Positively Raw 04.05.11: Wrestlemania Aftermath and Wrestlemania Building

Welcome to the Post-Wrestlemania edition of Positively Raw. We kick things off this week with a look back at my personal highlights of the biggest show of the year in…

1. The Viper Coils before Striking
For me, the match of the night would have to go to Randy Orton vs. CM Punk. It’s likely no secret to regular readers of this column that I was a huge fan of the feud between these two, and as far as I’m concerned the match delivered exactly as it needed to. The match was long enough for the two to pull off some memorable moments and some big spots, and the pace was well worked out. I’m sure some will make complaints of ‘But Punk lost again at Wrestlemania’… to those people I say that if he was going to lose, at least he lost in style, as the false finishes where Orton suddenly struck, but Punk was lucky enough to counter in time, followed by the genius facial expressions of glee shining through on Punk’s face, followed by the super-RKO out of nowhere was a terrific end to the match. What can I say other than that I loved it?

2. Ten Years Later…
A decade after their first Wrestlemania encounter, Triple H and Undertaker faced off again at the Grandest Stage of Them All. While this match was predictably slower, it told a fantastic story. I’ll admit that after predicting outright in the 411 Roundtable on Saturday that there was no chance that Triple H was winning, I was soon lost in the drama of this match, and that when Triple H hit The Dead Man with a Tombstone, I was on the edge of my seat as the referee counted. I began to think that The Game was going to pull it off. For many, this match is considered the match of the night, and I fully understand why, as it truly was a clash of the titans. There have been a couple of complaints that I’ve seen that have been laid down. The first is that HBK didn’t interfere. Truth is though, what if Shawn Michaels did interfere? He’d have had to help one of them, and then what? He’s made it clear that he’s done, and will not be wrestling again, so HBK turning on Triple H would have lead to nothing ultimately, so it makes sense to leave him out of it. The other gripe that some people seem to have is the ending to the match. Some didn’t seem to like the Hells Gate finish. Again, this was great in that it was completely different to the two endings we’ve seen in the ‘Taker/HBK matches of the last two years. The drama was in full force, and me and the other guys that I watched the show with were all on the edge of our seats as Triple H struggled to find the sledgehammer, as he found it, and as he became too weak to hold on to it before submitting. After the match, we were all left questioning whether this is the end for The Undertaker after all, despite his 19th Wrestlemania victory.

3. The Main Event
Yeah, it was an overbooked finish. But were you really expecting anything less with The Rock being involved? Really? First off, I loved the brilliant Miz promo video package, and this has already been commended by various commentators and in a multitude of columns. I have to say that I found the religious overtones a little overbearing during the Cena promo video/entrance, and would rather them have cut it slightly shorter, or have gone a different route with it. Overall I’m all for the big, over-the-top Wrestlemania entrances (which reminds me to add that I loved Triple H’s entrance). I think the lack of time left really hindered this match slightly, but with what they had left, I thought that The Miz and John Cena gave it all that they had. Again, I was on the edge of my seat towards the end, and we were all making plenty of noise (bare in mind that this was at nearly 4am our time). When Cena locked in the STF, I thought it was over; then when he hit the huge AA, I thought it was over. The Miz went over huge here, while continuing his classic heel title run of barely making it through. His smile as he was declared still Champion after the double countout said it all. The Rock’s involvement was needed to send the fans home happy, as he provided us with an actual end to the title match, setting up a Rock/Cena match down the line hopefully. There were then some complaints of The Miz looking weak in the end, as The Rock got the better of the Champ and hit a People’s Elbow. The Miz is meant to be a weaker heel Champion, it’s his gimmick. Also, The Miz had just been through a gruelling title defence in which he hadn’t had time to recover, while The Rock was fresh and ready to fight. The main thing is that when all was said and done, the winner of the match, and still WWE Champion is The Miz.

A few other positive Wrestlemania notes that I’d add are that I was pleasantly surprised to see Cody Rhodes defeat Rey Mysterio, and that I loved the comic book vibe that both men added to their entrances, with Cody looking the part of a scorned super-villain; I thought that the Austin/Lawler/Cole/Swagger/ GM/Booker T/Josh Matthews stuff was harmless fun; And I was shocked (in a good way) to see Snooki actually pull something off, even it was only two moves!

Written in the Stars…

1. 2 Wrestlemania Rematches for the Price of 1

Arguably, two of the best matches at Wrestlemania this year were Cody Rhodes vs. Rey Mysterio, and Randy Orton vs. CM Punk. On this week’s Raw, the night after Wrestlemania, we were treated to a tag team match as the heels took on the faces once again; Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk and Cody Rhodes. The formerly ‘Dashing’ one worked the majority of the match, but couldn’t gain a second victory in as many nights, as he would eventually fall victim to both a 619 and an RKO in quick succession to earn Mysterio and Orton the victory.

The Positive – Well, I’ve already mentioned above that in my opinion, Orton vs. Punk was the best match of Wrestlemania, and Rhodes vs. Mysterio was also certainly a Wrestlemania worthy match in my opinion. It’s most likely that these feud s will be continuing into Extreme Rules at the least, so this fun tag match was a great way to carry things along, as well as providing us with some great tag-team wrestling. The match lasted for nearly three whole segments, and the pacing was spot on. It was interesting to see Rhodes’s long stretches spent in the match, and Punk’s small bursts of competition in comparison. Maybe Rhodes is getting more of a push soon? Also of note is that all four of these men have history with one another. Punk and Mysterio of course faced off at Wrestlemania last year, and had one of the best feuds of 2010, while Orton and Rhodes were also involved in a triple threat match against each other at that Wrestlemania, and before that had been Legacy teammates. And, to round things off, Rhodes and Orton were both responsible for Punk losing his first World title, as Orton punted Punk back in 2008 after a Legacy beat down. So it all ties in.

2. One More Match?

Stone Cold Steve Austin took to the ring on Raw. Just before he made his way down, he met Triple H backstage, and in a moment almost as cool as when he bumped into The Rock at Wrestlemania the night before, Austin shook hands with one of his former rivals, and congratulated The Game on his match against Undertaker.

When he got to the ring, and after posing atop the ropes to his iconic glass shattering music, Steve Austin introduced us to the cast of the new series of Tough Enough. Each of them introduced themselves, passing along the ‘horn’ as Austin now calls a microphone, ahead of the series debut after Raw. The crowd began chanting ‘Stun Them All’, but before Austin had a chance to stun anyone, The Miz and his Vice-President of Communications Alex Riley took to the stage. The Miz showed us a replay of John Cena tackling him over the barricade from Wrestlemania the night before, and revealed to us that he was indeed concussed by that nasty blow to the head. The Awesome One then boasted of how he was able to not only continue in that condition, but also managed to beat John Cena and retain the WWE Championship in the Main Event of Wrestlemania.

The Miz then reminded us of his own ‘Tough Enough’ past, and rubbed the WWE Championship in the faces of the Tough Enough hopefuls. He told them all that they’d never get closer to the title than that, and then he turned his attention to the Hall of Famer standing before him.
‘Think you can go for one more run Austin?’ The WWE Champion asked. This started off a barrage of ‘One More Match’ chants from the Atlanta crowd. The Miz told Austin to clear the ring, and said that they’d go. Austin accepted and told his Tough Enough crew to leave the ring. It was essentially a trap though, as Alex Riley then attacked the Rattlesnake, while The Miz fled the ring. Stone Cold made a comeback though, and proving that he can still dish out much more of a can of whoop-ass than a single stunner, Austin hit Riley with all of his old signature moves. He then shared a beer with all of the Tough Enough contestants.

The Positive – With the recent return of The Rock, many have been speculating as to whether and when The Great One will be competing in a match… something I’ll get to later on… But nobody even thought of Austin having one last match. The man does have neck issues, but has in the past said ‘Never Say Never’. So it could now be a possibility that Stone Cold Steve Austin would wrestle again. I’d pay to see it, and I’m sure there are plenty out there that would. It’d give whoever wrestled him, be it The Miz, or anyone else, a major rub. This segment teased a lot, and with it looking as if John Cena and The Rock have moved on, The Miz needs some more challengers, and I certainly wouldn’t say no to a Stone Cold Revival. Austin certainly showed he has at least a small burst of wrestling action in him against Alex Riley.

As for The Miz, this was the perfect segment for him to interrupt on this night. Not only did the current WWE Champion interact with another of the biggest legends in WWE history and potentially set something up for down the road there, but he also got revisit his past. For the contestants of Tough Enough, there is no better example of the things they can achieve from the show than The Miz himself. To date The Miz is the only Tough Enough contestant to win a World Title, although John Morrison will most likely win the big one too one of these days. And the Wrestlemania clip that The Miz showed off was of interest too, as although it looked quite the bump when watching Wrestlemania, I hadn’t noticed just how he had hit his head – Got to give props to The Champ for finishing the show with a concussion. One last point of note to add here is of the crowd reactions that The Miz receives, as I’ve noticed over the weeks that the boos for The Miz are fading, and the cheers are growing. Could we be seeing The Miz naturally becoming a face? Only time will tell I guess.

3. The Road to Wrestlemania 28

To end Raw this week, John Cena came down and spoke. He congratulated The Miz, and actually gave the WWE Champion some respect. He then turned his attention to The Rock, and called out The Great One to respond after The Rock had Rock Bottomed Cena the night before during the title match. The Rock arrived to the expected pop, and answered Cena’s questions. The People’s Champion made it clear to Cena that although he doesn’t like Cena, he does still respect him. The Rock endorsed Cena as the guy who became The Face of WWE. John Cena soon cut to the point and just came out and asked The Rock when he’d be having a match, referring to the crowd who of course want to see it. John Cena challenged The Rock to a match. The Rock warned Cena of what he’d be getting himself in for before…. Finally agreeing to a match… At Wrestlemania 28 in the main event ‘The Biggest Match of All Time’. Both men shook hands, and a year in advance we have ourselves a Wrestlemania match laid down. Set.

The Corre would then hit the ring in attempt to make an impact by taking out both men in this iconic moment, but The Rock and John Cena would fight back and get the better of the foursome, hitting their signature and finishing moves, trying to outdo each other.

The Positive – As Michael Cole said, this is unprecedented. We have a match set for next year’s Wrestlemania already, made only one night after this year’s Wrestlemania. A year’s notice. If that isn’t planning ahead and building a feud, I don’t know what is. It also gives us a huge, significant build to the match on The Rock’s lighter schedule, while also allowing The Great One enough time to train up and wash off the ring rust. I can’t wait to Wrestlemania 28 already. It’s going to be good to know that we all get what we want: At least one more Rock match!

As for The Corre’s interruption, I have no problem with it. It makes sense that Wade Barrett and Co. would want to make an impact in a big way like this, and even though they were gotten the better of, they still have to an extent, as the four of them will always have been a part of this iconic scene in wrestling history. I also have no problem with Cena and The Rock beating the four of them, as they are meant to be two of the greatest ever, and this was about one-upmanship to further the feud. I loved it.

That’s me done for another week. As always I hope you’ve all enjoyed the column. I’ll leave you with something that I thought about writing about, but thought would be better in video form. Enjoy:

Stay Positive!