The one thing you have to keep in mind about last nights raw is that it was the first show since the draft and they are trying to set in the new storylines. I have heard a lot of people talking about the lack of wrestling on last nights show and yea there could have been more but after they mixed everyone up they have to get things rolling again. And also imo the Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes stuff on the mic last night was excellent I didn’t really think much of them as mic workers but they proved me wrong. I say that because you didn’t go into that and I would like to know if I’m the only one who feels this way?
I do understand that Raw had to set the stage for what will play out in the future following the draft, but they could have worked in a few more matches and still had the same effect. The Y2J/Kofi match as well as the main event could have been longer and that would have helped right there. The promos were very long last night, another thing they could have done was tighten them up a bit and make them more succinct. This would have allowed for another match or two. As for Cody and DiBiase, I think Ted is great on the mic, but Cody needs some work, he’s a bit stiff. I like these two a lot though, and am anxious to see where they go.
To quote Jerry Lawler, “PUNK WINS, PUNK WINS, PUNK WINS!!!!. Good to know im not the only CM Punk mark out there. I also, for the first time in a long time I marked out like hell when Cena came out with Cryme Tyme.
Ya, it really was awesome.
I love wrestling and I love good wrestling matches, but I have no prob with more promos and less matches. If you remember back in the Attitude era, that’s the way it was. That’s why I think WWE got popular again, they were doing more of the other stuff.
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Nick, enjoyed your review of Raw. I have one HUGE complaint about Raw last night in the whole CM Punk-Edge-JR-Batista segment, whatever you want to call it: As a fan, we get the understanding of JR being on Raw in his hometown to give his farewell address. After all the year’s on Raw, it is sad to see him and the King broken up. But what reason could anyone possibly give for Edge to be in Oklahoma City last night to lose his World Heavyweight Championship? Him and JR don’t have a beef. Edge has been on Smackdown now for nearly a year and until last Monday night, JR has been on Raw. JR hasn’t bashed Edge or been a thorn in his side like Batista or the Undertaker. So why is he out interrupting JR? You could argue that he was there to gloat about Batista, but if Batista wanted him, why not send him to Smackdown to get revenge? There just is no plausible explanation for Edge, let alone Hawkins and Ryder, to be anywhere near Oklahoma City last night. It was poorly booked and made Edge look weak, losing to a guy who has lost matches to the likes of John Morrison and Chavo Guerrero in recent times. And as for CM Punk, you can’t take him seriously because all he did was bring the belt back to Raw. I will not be shocked to see him lose to Cena or Batista at the Great American Bash.
You do raise some good points here. I understand that in reality it didn’t make much sense for Edge to be there last night, especially since he knows Batista is on Raw and would most likely want to stay as far away from him as possible. But WWE wanted to get the belt back on Raw as quickly as they could, and honestly I’m glad they decided to mix it up on free TV instead of making us wait to pay to see Punk win at the next PPV. I will take this kind of excitement over a small logic issue any day.
I am not sure why so many people are excited about Punk being champ? Just because its at least something fresh? or do the rest of you see something in this guy that I donât? His finisher just looks so contrived and 90% of the time is not executed well. I am willing to give him a chance and see where this goes but in all honesty I just donât see main event or money draw on this guy, what am I missing??
They are reacting to the fact that it’s fresh and new. It’s not the same old champ that we’ve been watching for years. As far as Punk’s finisher goes, most of the time it looks good, but you’re right, sometimes it looks very awkward. He should go back to the Anaconda Vice. Or at least switch it up a bit.
Nick, great artice about RAW I couldn’t agree more. I sat there the whole night just saying “enough with the damn promos.” I had a thought last night and haven’t seen any website mention of this but there seemed to be a lot of mention of RAW having no GM and the thought came to me with Ric Flair’s DVD coming out next week and Vince out for however long what would be the chances of having Ric Flair as the GM? It would be a great way to plug his new DVD set and it would be so over with the crowd.
Good idea, but I doubt WWE would want him in that permanent of a role. It diminishes the value of having him sporadically appear on the show.
This is Laman Fountain, from Batesville, Arkansas. I listened to the radio show last night. I loved it. I will tune in every week now. But I just wanted to pass this along. I just ordered tickets for a Raw Live house show here in Little Rock, Arkansas. And about a week ago, it first said Raw and ECW Live, but then about 3 or 4 days ago, they changed it back to RAW Live. You said in a article that RAW and ECW will merge in August. But by this to me, I don’t think it will happen. What do you think will happen??
We have been getting conflicting reports that ECW might not be making the switch to tape with Raw. At this point there has been no confirmation, but I would not be surprised to see ECW keep its Tuesday night taping. Thanks for the info.
I hate to disagree but I really enjoyed Raw for the first time since Flair’s retirement. Lack of wrestling means nothing to me as long as they are trying to establish new stars (Rhodes and Million Dollar Man Jr) or add fuel to feuds (Cena, Jericho). The opening title change along with the Punk vs JBL main event was excellent. You weren’t the only one hoping Punk would kick out of some on those hits he was taking…giving his recent losing streak I was almost certain that he wouldn’t last the night. Then Cena and Crime Time?? Very unexpected. That’s what this show needed…I am so sick of HHH, Cena, Batista and Orton….Punk winning a title, I loved it start to finish. Hopefully he survives the next pay per view.
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Nick, as much as I enjoy listening to you on the VOW, I’m going to have to strongly disagree with your Raw Review. I thought from top to bottom this was an excellent Raw show. Glenn Gilberti hits the nail on the coffin when he says you can’t have too much wrestling on a broadcast because the casual fan will turn the channel. The ppv’s are when you get to see the 10 to 30 minute wrestling matches. Raw, ECW, Smackdown job is to build the story till you get to the ppv. Now Raw will throw us a bone every now and again with great wrestling matches and Smackdown seems to be the more wrestling oriented show. If you noticed they are going in a different direction in pushing the younger talent. CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, Ted Dibiase Jr and Cody Rhodes are all title holders now. Having them wrestle in 15 minute matches won’t get them over. Look at all the stars in the 80s and early 90s. They got over through vignette’s, promo’s, squash matches. Having Dibiase and Rhodes go over those two jobbers saved WWE from sacrificing a team like Cryme Tyme from doing the job. It was a quick win and they got to show off their personality in their post match promo. With Kingston you can tell with the post match beatdown with Jericho that he will be involved in this feud as well as he will even the odds with HBK against Jericho and Cade. Now Kingston and Cade will get the rub from two established superstars. With Punk they couldn’t have booked it any better with how it was done with him winning the title and him going over JBL at the end. WWE said they were going to start shaking things up and I think tonight was just the beginning of what hopefully is a new era. Keep up the great work on VOW.
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hey, i just read your 06/30 raw review and (i know you predicted this) have to tell you that i completly disagree. it was one of the best raw’s in a long time! . I mean, as you already said the first segment was great, but i also loved santino’s segment (that guy is HILARIOUS!) . The only downer of the show was the chody rhodes match, that was boring, but the kane/noble was a good segment (as a good re-introduction to raw for kane)! CM Punk retaining the championship was awesome, and i hope he gets a long run with it (but i really doubt it). Anyways, RAW is hotter than ever, and i cant wait for next week!
I have to agree that like it or not, WWE is on fire right now. I have loved everything that I’ve seen the past week in WWE and although Raw was too light on the wrestling for me last night, I anxiously await what will come in the future.
I totally agree with your Raw review. I was at the show in the Ford Center, and although the crowd was so HOT after the CM Punk win, there was NOTHING that kept it going. It has been over 2 years since RAW came to OKC and the show was nothing but promo after promo. I kept leaning over to my wife and saying the same thing. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the show because I was so damn excited after Punk’s win, and like you were praying that JBL or even Cena for that matter didn’t make it a quick streak. I just kept wanting more show. The start of the show was great, a goodbye from JR, although we all knew
someone was going to come slap him around. It was the point when Edge said, No one from Raw will ever have a chance to challenge for his title that I thought to myself, “Will they let Punk cash in the MITB tonight?” Which, I quickly dismissed until his music hit and I literally jump out of my seat and screamed like a girl! It was a moment in history or his career and for Raw. But the rest of the show was down hill. Where was Kane’s first Raw return match? No HBK?
Where was Holly after being made Rhodes’ bitch? Where were the new draft picks of Deuce, Palumbo, Striker or Layla? (Maybe a possible Striker and Santino stable?) There was just too many holes in the show tonight that should have been filled with a decent 15 minutes of wrestling or so.
Thanks for all of the feedback. Check back to WZ later in the day as I will be posting even more of your responses to Raw and my review.
