JC's Take: RAW Thoughts

This week's RAW is the Viewer's Choice Addition. Time for the WWE Universe to tell Vince what we really want! Right? Lets find out...

C.M. Punk: I'd Give Him Anything He Wants
RAW opened with C.M. Punk walking to the ring. Last night he beat Rey Mysterio, and he's beaten John Cena. He demanded the RAW GM make him the #1 Contender, and wasn't going to leave until the GM made it official. He wanted the match to take place in Chicago, his hometown, at the Money in the Bank PPV. An e-mail was sent. Punk mocked Cole's intro. The RAW GM said he would take Punk's demands under consideration, but asked Punk to leave the ring. Punk wouldn't. He started doing snow angels. The RAW GM said he was going to make Punk #1 Contender later in the night, but now he's not. Now he has to face Alberto del Rio. Punk said it was a bad decision, and the GM then made it a triple threat involving Rey Mysterio. Punk left and yelled at the announce team as he walked away.

Great opening segment. Punk was classic Punk here. Great lines including his rips on Baltimore. The snow angel thing and mocking of Cole were also great. Hopefully this wasn't the announcement Punk promised earlier in the day. It wasn't really monumental, just a typical heel type announcement. Survey Says: 4/5

Can C.M. Punk Come Back Out?
Next the people chose who would face Brie Bella for the Divas Championship. Kelly Kelly won the vote. Basic women's match. Kelly won with a reversal of a roll-up. Kelly showed emotion and thanked the WWE Universe for giving her the opportunity. There's really no difference if Brie Bella or Kelly Kelly is the Divas Champion. Survey Says: 2/5

What the Hell is Wrong with The WWE Universe?
Next the WWE Universe got to pick who would face Evan Bourne: Jack Swagger, Mason Ryan, or Sin Cara. Mason Ryan won the vote. This is why there is no point in voting. Your telling me people actually want to see a Mason Ryan match? Really people? OK Vince, Ryan is not going to get over until he gets better in the ring. He just looks so awkward in his movements. The best part about the match? A very audible "BATISTA" chant. I'm surprised it has taken that long for it to happen. Bourne tried his best here, but it just didn't work.

After giving Bourne a decent push the last few weeks, he gets squashed by Ryan. Ryan is not ready for singles action, and he showed it here. He was rushed into this push when he wasn't ready. Bourne now just looks like a high flyer who can't hang with the big boys after 2 victories over Jack Swagger recently. Survey Says: 2/5

MY HEART DON'T PUMP KOOL AID
Mark Henry was out next. He actually cut a decent promo on Big Show. He said Big Show got punished at Capitol Punishment for punishing him on Smackdown. He said when Big Show walks the Earth, it shakes. But when Mark Henry walks the Earth, all these people saying "WHAT", they are the ones that shake. It was delivered effectively, and it was nice to see Henry branch out and cut a promo like that.

After the break, the decision was made as to what Henry's showdown with Kane would be: A Bodyslam challenge, an over the top rope challenge, or an Arm Wrestling Challenge. Arm Wrestling it was, and of course it didn't end. Henry attacked Kane while Kane was in control. He rammed the arm wrestling table into him, then rammed him into the ring post, before finally powerslamming him through the announce table. Henry shouted that this was going to keep happening until he got some respect. He even at one point said, "MY HEART DON'T PUMP KOOL AID!" When Henry wears his red wrestling attire to the ring, some people like to think he looks like the kool aid man. I never backed any of Henry's pushes before, but I like what he has going for him so far. He's being put over as a dominating force, more so than in the past. I like the new powerslam move. It looks devastating. I'm assuming they are building up Henry as the next opponent for Randy Orton on Smackdown, whenever Orton is done with Christian. Strong Segment. Survey Says: 4/5

Really? What? Jimmy? Randy?
Back from break, they replayed the very good R-Truth "Conspiracy Theory" video package from last night. Truth ripped on the Baltimore crowd, saying that they had terrible home training. He thought to himself how he was gonna get got last night, and he said he didn't realize he was gonna get go by the "Little Jimmys." Christian interrupted, to a very good face pop. Isn't he a heel now. Christian said he agrees with R-Truth. Christian showed a photo of his foot underneath the rope from last night. He blamed everybody and demanded a rematch. Truth complained that Christian had had three matches for the World Title, when R-Truth only had one.

Out came the Miz. He called Truth and Christian a bunch of whiners. Christian told Miz that at least Truth and himself were in title matches last night, and Miz lost to his apprentice. They then had a corny exhcange in the ring, repeating the phrases "Really", "Jimmy", "Riley", and "Randy". Out came Teddy Long to tell them to shut up. He said the main event would be Truth, Miz, and Christian vs John Cena, Randy Orton, and Alex Riley, with the audience picking the stipulation. It was a fun promo until that corny one-liner exchange. You could tell this match was coming once Miz came out. It sets up a good wrestling main event that is hopefully given some time. Survey Says: 3/5

Hey, Somebody FINALLY Got Something Right
Whether it was the WWE Universe or Vince, somebody finally got something right. Dolph Ziggler vs Kofi Kingston was next for the United States Championship in a 2 out of 3 falls match. The other choices were submission or Vickie being banned from ringside. OK action heading into the break. The first fall was scored during the break. Ziggler hit the ZigZag on the floor and rolled Kofi in for the pin and the first pinfall. Ziggler dominated, he hit good dropkick. But out of nowhere, Kofi hit the SOS to win the second fall.

Some good action in the final fall. Typical stuff from these two. Dolph got hit with the Trouble in Paradise on the outside. Kofi rolled him back into the ring, but Dolph grabbed the rope before the referee could count three. Dolph tried running again as Kofi stopped him, but Dolph hit Kofi with a microphone causing a disqualification. Kofi connected with the Trouble in Paradise afterwards. Decent action, a notch below last night. It gives Kofi cause for a rematch, but it's becoming tiring watching these two fight every week. They shouldn't have been put on the same brand in the first place. Survey Says: 3/5

They showed an ad for Shawn Michaels being on RAW next week. Yeah, this guy is watching.

Alberto del Rio came out for the Triple Threat #1 Contender's Match. He said everything that happened to Big Show was destiny, and when he wins tonight, it is all just a part of his destiny.

Oh No, That's Too Honest Mr. Punk
The match stipulation chosen was Falls Count Anywhere. The action spilled to the outside as they cut to break. Lots of back and forth action in the ring. Punk countered a 619 beautifully. Del Rio at one point put Rey in the cross armbreaker, but Punk broke it up. The finish came after Rey hit Del Rio with the 619. He hit the West Coast Pop, but Puk threw Rey off of him and picked up the win. Very good TV match. I'd give it ***1/4 stars. Better than normal TV match. All three looked good at times. Surprising to see Del Rio take the pin, although Rey has lost two PPVs in a row.

After the match, Punk said July 17th will be the most historic day in WWE history. It is not only the day when the Money in the Bank PPV is, but also the day his WWE contract expires. He promised to make history, saying he would leave the WWE with the WWE Championship. Strong promo from Punk. Very discouraging to hear him say he is leaving even if he wins. Tonight has shown what will be missed with C.M. Punk. The man has been on tonight and was good once again in the ring. The WWE could really sell Money in the Bank with a strong build making Punk seem like a serious threat to John Cena and the WWE Championship, and what RAW would be like without the WWE Title. Excellent Follow Up to a very good match. Survey Says: 5/5

Who Chooses Paper Over Plastic Nowadays?
Up next was Cody Rhodes vs Daniel Bryan in a No Countout Match. Damn it, I really wanted a Paper Bag Match. Short match that only went two minutes. Bryan won with a roll up. Cody tried to attack Bryan after the match, but Bryan put him in the LaBell Lock. Ted DiBiase came out and saved Cody. They put a paper bag over Bryan's head after the beatdown. Very little crowd heat for this segment. Maybe Cody is not as over as the WWE would like. It could have been better. It seemed like filler more than anything else. Survey Says: 2/5

If the Fans Had A Choice, They'd Say No to Dance-Offs
Up next was some stupid dance off with Vickie Guerrero going against either Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, or Booker T. Lawler one. I got a bit of a laugh at Cole's dancing, but in the end it accomplished nothing. Why not give this time for more Bryan and Rhodes? Survey Says: 1/5

Can We Just Vote Cena Off of RAW Already?
The main event was the 6 man tag. The WWE Universe chose an elimination match. The heels took their turns working over Randy Orton during the early part of the match. Orton eventually was able to make the hot tag to Alex Riley. A huge clusterfuck started, which lead to everyone being in the ring. With the ref distracted, Miz snuck in and delivered a Skull Crushing Finale to A-Ri, allowing Christian to pin him and eliminate Riley.

Back from break, Miz was working over Orton until Orton was able to tag in Cena. Cena hit the five knuckle shuffle but Miz kicked out. Miz went to the top and missed, allowing Cena to lock in the STF. R-Truth broke it up. The heels again gained control over Cena. Cena kept trying to make a tag but was unable to. At one point Cena was inches away from Orton for what seemed like an eternity before Truth broke it up. Orton through a classic hissy fit on the outside, cause apparently Truth screwed that up. Cena gained enough strength to put Miz in the Attitude Adjustment and eliminate him. The finishing sequence came rather quickly. Orton RKO'd Truth, eliminating him. Christian immediately speared Orton for the pin. Christian got over-excited and Cena went for the AA, but Christian escaped. Orton RKO'd Christian, allowing Cena to put him in the STF. Christian tapped out and the faces won. Afterwards Cena and Orton celebrated to end the show.

Another good wrestling match. My problem is the faces went over again. This is the problem with the WWE nowadays. The heels aren't made to look strong on a regular basis anymore. Do we really need to send the fans home happy every week? Sure the wrestling was good, but we need to have some believable threats to super faces Cena and Orton, and there aren't any at the moment. I'd probably give the match **3/4 stars. Survey Says: 4/5

Overall
I thought this was an above average show. There were two very good wrestling matches, which is a rarity on RAW nowadays. Dolph/Kofi was also good, despite the screwy finish. As I said, I may be in the minority, but I'm enjoying Mark Henry Push #35832908. There just seems to be something different about it this time. I could have done without the dance off, and would have rather seen Sin Cara than Mason Ryan face Evan Bourne. I'm giving the show a 6.5.

And remember kids, the Kool Aid Man is your friend and mine. Piss him off, and you're bound to get your ass whooped!

Until next time,
Justin C