The WWE RAW Truth Review for 2/25/13

Tonight's RAW has a lot of hype around it. We get C.M. Punk vs John Cena, Vince McMahon vs Paul Heyman, and the fallout from the Jack Swagger/Zeb Colter/Glenn Beck happenings. Expect the course for Wrestlemania to be set after tonight.

WE'RE GONNA FIGHT!!!
Vince McMahon walked to the ring on crutches. Vince said he likes to do things big, so why not start RAW with a fight. Paul Heyman came down the ramp. He said he's waited his entire life for this fight. Vince has always thought of Heyman as a wuss, but Heyman said he is all man. He said Vince has as much a chance of beating him as Tony Romo does the Super Bowl. Heyman asked Vince if he was sure he wanted to do this. But before Vince could answer, Heyman hit him with a Spear and then a crutch to the leg. Vince blocked another crutch shot and hit Heyman with it. Brock Lesnar suddenly came out. Before Brock could attack Vince, HHH came out. Hunter and Lesnar brawled on the outside. HHH threw Brock into the post and Brock got busted open hardway. HHH clotheslined Brock over the barricade. Lesnar came back and threw HHH on the announce table. HHH came back with a chair shot in the ring as Lesnar retreated,

Thoughts on Jack Swagger

Unless you've been away from your phone, computer, Twitter etc. in the last few hours, you probably know by now that Jack Swagger was arrested last night after the Smackdown taping in Mississippi. He was arrested for DUI and marijuana possession. It should be noted that Swagger was under the influence of marijuana, not alcohol. That doesn't change the fact that what Swagger did was absolutely stupid for somebody in his position.

Swagger was put in possibly the biggest position of his WWE career. He had just won the Elimination Chamber match on Sunday to earn a World Title shot at Wrestlemania. To me, that is bigger than him winning the World Title in 2010. Swagger gets the chance to be in a Title match at Wrestlemania. If you would have told me Jack Swagger was going to be in a Title match at Mania two months ago, I would've assumed you were talking about the United States Title. I would have never guessed that Swagger was going to receive the push that he did.

The RAW Truth Review for 2/18/2013

We are officially full speed on the Road to Wrestlemania. Expect the path to it to get a lot clearer after tonight. My guess is that you will get an idea of what the majority of the matches will be after tonight.

Lose To The Shield? Who Cares, KEEP SMILING!
John Cena came out, smiling and happy as ever after losing to The Shield. John Cena said Wrestlemania is taking shape after last night. C.M. Punk came out. Punk said fighting The Rock at Wrestlemania was the easy way out. Punk said Rock beat him fair and square, despite having Rock down for an 18 count and striking a WWE official. Punk said Cena has never beat him. Cena said he wasn't talking about wins and losses, he was talking about Wrestlemania. Cena said sorry but this one isn't about him, so Punk will have to sit this one out. Punk said he was Champ for 434 days. He called Cena lucky for winning the Rumble. Punk said Rock/Cena was a rerun. Cena asked Punk what he wants to do. Punk said walk away. Cena said he isn't going to hand away a golden ticket to the main event of Wrestlemania. Cena said Punk does have a point. He hasn't beaten Rock or Punk. And he wants to silence those critics. Cena challenged Punk to a match. If Cena wins, Punk shuts up. If Punk wins, he gets to go to the main event of Wrestlemania. Punk said they will do it, next week. Cena agreed.

WWE Elimination Chamber Review

We are less than one hour away from the WWE Elimination Chamber on PPV. I'm expecting a good show, at least from a wrestling standpoint. We should also get a clearer look at the Road to Wrestlemania after tonight's show. Follow along!

The Rhodes Scholars vs Brodus Clay and Tensai
After a brief exchange between Sandw and Clay, Rhodes and Tensai came in. Cody caught Brodus with a Goldust upper cut and tagged in Sandow. After Sandow worked him over Cody caught Tensai with a Disaster Kick. The heels took turns working over Tensai until he began coming back. Tensai tagged in Brodus. He hit a splash on Cody but Sandow stopped a suplex with a dropkick. Tensai came in to even the odds. They hit double splashes, with Clay pinning Cody to pick up the win.

WINNERS: Brodus Clay and Tensai

After the traditional opening video package, the World Title Match was announced to start the show.

World Heavyweight Championship: Alberto del Rio (c) vs Big Show
After both men got in some quick offense, Big Show got a couple of chest slaps in. Show hit a bodyslam then another slap in the corner. Del Rio ducked a Show charge in the corner, then grabbed Show's leg and hit it with a kick. Del Rio hit a kick to the head for two. Show countered an early cross armbreaker attempt and hit a Spear on Del Rio for two. Del Rio tried fighting back but walked right into a Big Show boot. Big Show hit a Vader Bomb. Show took his time getting to Del Rio, allowing Del Rio to apply  the cross armbreaker. Show was able to get his foot on the ropes.

WWE Elimination Chamber Preview

This Sunday the WWE brings us the Elimination Chamber PPV. It is the final gear change before we go "Full Throttle" into Wrestlemania season. There's only been three weeks in between the Rumble and this PPV. That has definitely affected the build to the show. It also doesn't help when the WWE Champion isn't on one of the RAWs leading up to the show. But again, that's another story to talk about at another time.

Looking at the PPV card as a whole, it has the potential to be a good show. The wrestling should be good. The WWE usually does a good job with their Chamber matches, and with the people involved in this one I think it should be a good match. I kind of wish there were two matches like normal, but I get the idea of having a second Rock/Punk rematch. I like the idea of the Elimination Chamber being the last chance for a wrestler to sacrifice it all for a chance to fight for a Title at Wrestlemania.

The WWE RAW Truth Review for 2/11/13

We are headed into the last RAW before the Elimination Chamber. And rumors of a possible return tonight? stay tuned. I'm doing this Review less than two hours after getting a tooth pulled. The least you could do is follow along.

HUG IT OUT
RAW started with Paul Heyman. He said tonight is the last time you will ever see him. He said he will never play the victim in his entire life. He sacrificed everything in his personal life to bring us ECW. When he came to the WWE, he put all of his effort into bringing us Brock Lesnar. Then he saw a man he thought could eclipse Bruno Sammartino, main event Wrestlemania and who should still be WWE Champion today, C.M. Punk. Heyman said he can see into the future, and something really bad is going to happen. He said he has become a distraction, and the sins of him will come down on C.M. Punk. Heyman said you would think there wouldn't be a dry eye in the house, but there isn't. He said he won't miss the WWE Universe. Heyman said good bye and looked up.

Who Will Win Their First WWE or World Title This Year?

For the first time in a long time, something didn't happen in the WWE last year. No superstar one their first WWE or World Title last year. C.M. Punk held the WWE Title the entire calendar year of 2012. On the World Title side, Sheamus won at Wrestlemania (had previously won WWE Title) and Big Show defeated him for it (previously held both WWE and World Title). Since the inception of the World Title in the WWE, this has never happened. Every year, someone has catapulted into the main event scene and won their first WWE or World Title.

So is this a sign of future booking from the WWE? Or just a one year anomaly? My guess would be the latter. Once The Rock announced his WWE Title Match at the Royal Rumble, you could almost guarantee that C.M. Punk was going to hold the WWE Title until then. On the World Title side, I expected Sheamus to drop the Title to either Dolph Ziggler or Wade Barrett eventually, and that did not happen. Instead Big Show got himself a World Title run.

The RAW Truth Review for 2/4/13

Our WWE Champion may not be on the show tonight. That doesn't help Rock's popularity backstage or with the fans. Does it affect your thoughts on him?

The Real People's Champion
C.M. Punk came out and brought Justin Roberts into the ring with him. He had Roberts call him "The People's Champion." Punk said he didn't overreact last week, because no one has held anything as important as the WWE Championship. Punk said he acted like a normal person would act because he was screwed. The WWE Title was stolen from him by someone who doesn't deserve it. And now Punk said he is getting questions after last week's video of Paul Heyman. Punk asked some fans and Michael Cole if they saw him in the video last week. Cole said he wasn't. Punk said if Paul Heyman says it wasn't him then it wasn't him. Punk said Vince has the cash to hire actors to make it a fake. Vince has the money to hire actors and make a video to his liking. Punk said Vince getting his hip broke is exactly what he deserved. Punk said in two weeks he gets back what Rock stole from him, the physical belt that Rock carries around while he continues day 442 of his WWE Title reign.

Booker T came out. He stumbled over his lines. He said the WWE Universe will decide who C.M. Punk faces tonight from his past Wrestlemania opponents: Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton or Chris Jericho.

The WWE, Wrestlemania, and the Need To Look At The Long Term

Well, it looks like my post from about a month ago will have some weight to it after all. The results of the Royal Rumble all but guarantee us a Rock/Cena rematch for Wrestlemania 29. As I stated earlier, the match does nothing for me. I just don't care about seeing it again.

The WWE will tell us all that the short term results from this will be great. Wrestlemania 29 will be a huge revenue gainer for the WWE. Most people believe that it will be the highest grossing gate Mania of all time. That is fine and dandy. I still don't buy the idea that this Wrestlemania will have the most PPV buys of all time. There are a lot of people just like me who do not want to see Wrestlemania headlined by two PPV matches that have taken place in the last year. Wrestlemania is suppose to be about big, new matches that haven't taken place before. Instead, the WWE has decided to take the safe route and book matches that have already succeeded for them. It is lazy booking at its finest. Why try something new when you can go with something that has already done well?