For The Record 7.05.09: Raw’s Greatness
Posted by Kristopher Rodriguez on 07.05.2009
Raw has been on fire since mid June. Why so much hate from the IWC?
Raw has been very entertaining the past three weeks. Among its best qualities as of late has been its: unpredictability, competitive Diva's Division, and frequent use of Smackdown talent:
Unpredictability
Monday nights have been full of surprises the past few weeks. During the 3-For-All, Vince McMahon announced that he sold Monday Night Raw to Donald Trump. Of course, internet fans knew that it was just a stunt. But from a storyline perspective, it was quite intriguing. It got a lot of buzz from the "mark" fans who thought the purchase was real. They watched the following week in droves. Casual TV viewers who were curious tuned in to see what all the hoopla surrounding Donald Trump was about. And members of the IWC wondered how long the storyline would last and where it was going. Couple that with the fact that Raw was commercial free and featured a Last Man Standing title match, it was not surprising that June 22nd's Raw got high ratings. This past week's Raw continued the string of unpredictable programming, but we'll get to that later.
Diva's Division
The Women's division has also been quite good. Maryse has been a great Diva's Champion, and she is complemented well by the efforts of Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, Beth Phoenix, Rose Melendez. They will also be aided by Gail Kim and Alicia Fox in the coming weeks. The female wrestlers of WWE don't seem to get the respect they deserve. The Divas on Raw are talented wrestlers.
Smackdown's Presence
Raw has also made use of Smackdown's most talented wrestlers. Some people might complain that such cross-over hurts the credibility of the brand split. But it is in fact mutually beneficial for Raw and Smackdown. Raw gets an injection of superb workrate when Smackdown stars appear. Smackdown benefits by seeing its top grapplers get exposure. Sure, wrestlers like Edge, Jericho, Punk, and Hardy need no introduction to the WWE fans. But since Smackdown has consistently drawn low ratings… it is important that Smackdown's top stars appear on Raw to stay visible and relevant.
This Past Raw…Batista Was "All Business"
June 29th's Raw continued the trend of quality programming.
It was good to see Batista as the "Guest Host" on Raw. He actually played the role quite well. While he'll never be Chris Jericho on the mike, he still held his own. His decision to put Randy Orton in a Gauntlet Match was reasonable and logical. Orton likes to deliver three-on-one beatdowns; it would only be fair in the mind of Batista that Orton gets a taste of his own medicine. Batista's "booking" was simple and effective. The fans seemed to enjoy it… and the main event drew in viewers.
But before we talk about the main event, the rest of the show deserves some props. I know, Triple H "squashed" MVP. But come on IWC… lighten up! Do you really believe MVP is at a level where he deserves to be defeating Triple H and headlining pay-per-view title matches? He's not over enough. Maybe he'll reach that level in time, but he's not yet ready. I know, some members of the IWC will object that the match shouldn't have ended so quickly. But to that I ask… what are you kidding me?
Triple H was involved in some pretty violent brawls on June 22nd and June 28th. He worked a draining Last Man Standing match with Randy Orton during the commercial-free Raw. Six days later, he fought Orton in Three Stages of Hell. By the end of that match, both competitors were visibly spent. Wrestlers are human beings… and their bodies can only take so much.
So the next night, yeah, Triple H won a quick match over MVP. What did the IWC expect, a twenty minute classic? Triple H still had to go out later that night and face John Cena. Triple H had to win a quick match to have something left in the tank for Cena. As far as Cena's victory over the Miz… what was the problem with that? Who honestly believes the Miz is worthy of pinning WWE's biggest star? The outcome of the match was academic… the way it was supposed to be. But that's okay. The Miz got a somewhat lengthy match with Cena, and in the process got in-ring time with WWE's top dog. And John Cena got the win to set up this coming week's Raw main event.
And because of the outcome of that match, Raw will feature John Cena vs. Triple H in a #1 Contender's match. That was a good decision on WWE's part. It's a "dream" match of sorts for the WWE Universe, and it gives curious fans a reason to tune in this Monday after the Fourth of July weekend. Raw has delivered a string of abnormally high ratings. It makes perfect sense that they would hype such a dynamic main event on a taped edition that many fans otherwise wouldn't watch.
Gauntlet Match, Mystery Wrestlers, Shocking Upset
What made this past week's Raw so commendable was the Gauntlet match. The first opponent was ECW's resident high flier, Evan Bourne.
Yeah, okay, he lost to Orton. But that's no big deal. Monday was an important night for Bourne because he became a member of the Raw roster. That's a great professional accomplishment for any wrestler. Bourne has a bright future, and now he'll have the opportunity to display his talents before a broad wrestling audience.
Next out was Jack Swagger. It was a smart decision on WWE's part to put Swagger on Raw. For starters, Swagger and Bourne are good antidotes to the notion that Raw lacks workrate talent. But more importantly, Swagger is a potential cornerstone main eventer. He deserves a chance to shine on the franchise show.
Swagger made good use of his time. He didn't wrestle, but he did leave fans scratching their heads. Why did he allow himself to be intentionally counted out? What are his motives? Does he want to join Legacy? Swagger became relevant upon arrival. That's the mark of a great debut.
Finally, we got Mark Henry as the final wrestler in the Gauntlet. I happen to enjoy Mark Henry's style and character. I thought he was an interesting addition to Raw.
I also think Henry surprised a lot of people. Rather than going to the ring and jobbing quickly, Henry displayed charisma, pounded Orton, and scored a shocking pinfall.
We don't see upsets often in wrestling. Fortunately, WWE has given the fans TWO upsets in two shows. Over on Smackdown, John Morrison defeated CM Punk cleanly. And on Raw, Henry beat Orton. Two world champions were defeated cleanly in the same week. We don't see those kinds of upsets too often.
The Gauntlet Match was unpredictable and riddled with surprises. And that's why Raw is the premiere show. Smackdown, Superstars, and ECW are entertaining broadcasts in their own rights. But Raw is still the place where anything can happen… and the ratings bear that out.
Raw is still a great program. The IWC should give it credit when it's due.
Moving On
Well that's it for this week. Want a little nostalgia on this most patriotic of weekends? Here's Lex Luger bodyslamming Yokozuna:
The Diva's Division is a strength? You're kidding aren't you? And needing to have talent from SD as well as the "Trump trades" shows that the current talent is stale. And honestly I really don't see the new talent helping out that much, as long as RAW has the same poor writing that protects the same stale talent. That really is the difference between RAW and SD. SD has much better writing. Take SD off of that crap MYTV network and put it on another night during the week and watch the ratings get close to or beat RAW's.
Posted By: mogamer (Guest) on July 02, 2009 at 09:46 AM
Maryse a great divas champion? HAHAHAHAHA She has 3 moves in her moveset that I can call each week, and other than those moves you have either sloppy mat slams or taunting.
Posted By: Sam (Guest) on July 02, 2009 at 09:47 AM
Let the flaming begin in
5..
4..
3..
2..
1...
Posted By: William (Guest) on July 02, 2009 at 09:48 AM
Yeah, it's been better. Better than the awful post-draft shows. Add workers from the other (good) shows and poof...it's more interesting. Great analysis and reporting?
Posted By: ASK HIM! (Guest) on July 02, 2009 at 09:53 AM
I liked the gauntlet match and I have to give Orton credit for making the 3 new ECW additions to RAW look good. He let Borne get in enough offence to still look strong in defeat. He let Swagger look strong with just simple acknowledgement in the handshake therefore immediately putting Swagger in the potential main-eventer category. He lost to Henry therefore making Henry look strong. If he pinned Henry while being exhausted and selling an injury, Henry would have looked like a complete useless jobber but Orton took the pin and made Henry look good. Heck, Orton made all three of them look good by just looking nervous when they arrived. Orton will make you look good but it's a shame others can't do the same for him.
Posted By: jane (Guest) on July 02, 2009 at 03:55 PM
lol...
Did RVD re-signed or was it a one-shot deal?
Posted By: Serp (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 12:07 AM
Maryse a great divas champion? HAHAHAHAHA She has 3 moves in her moveset that I can call each week, and other than those moves you have either sloppy mat slams or taunting.
Posted By: Sam (Guest) on July 02, 2009 at 09:47 AM
True as that may be, they are the sexiest three moves in all of wrestling
Posted By: Goblin (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 12:17 AM
"Next out was Jack Swagger. It was a smart decision on WWE's part to put Swagger on Raw. For starters, Swagger and Bourne are good anecdotes to the notion that Raw lacks workrate talent"
You don't know what the word anecdote means do you? It means a type of story, usually an entertaining one. There really isn't any way to use that word in this context.
Posted By: Blanky (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 12:17 AM
"Maryse a great divas champion? HAHAHAHAHA She has 3 moves in her moveset that I can call each week, and other than those moves you have either sloppy mat slams or taunting."
Yes, because everyone knows the amount of moves you do trumps charisma, portraying your character well, and everything else. That's why Malenko was always in the main events, and why Hogan never amounted to much. : )
Posted By: Guest#7930 (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 12:36 AM
The complaint about Triple H v MVP isn't that MVP lost but that it was a squash. Guy has been getting good reactions lately, let him get in some offense.
Having Smackdown stars on RAW is reasonable - I too saw it as a way to get viewers to tune in to Smackdown. However, it is sad that on both PPV and live shows, RAW matches are consistently overshadowed by Smackdown. RAW stars apparently not take it as a challenge to step up their game.
Orton vs HHH was a good match - and shows just how sad it is that they wouldn't try to have a good match on Wrestlemania. You know, the biggest show of the year? Those two are so hit and miss.
I haven't seen any real objection to Bourne losing. Many have even pointed out that he was allowed some offense.
The women's wrestling has not been good. I hope that was inserted to take up space.
Posted By: Guest#1684 (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 12:46 AM
Wow, internet writer tries to stand out by voicing an opinion that runs completely counter to popular opinion. Too bad his points are crap and his writing isn't going to convince anybody.
Sorry, but RAW has been shit. The mere fact that you point to Smackdown wrestlers appearing on the show as a good point says alot about who puts out the better product, and I'd argue that the best parts of the recent RAW were those that involved SD guys & former ECW guys.
You're seriously pointing to the Divas division and cheap publicity stunts as highlights? Wow.
The last ep was the best in a long time, and was pretty entertaining. Before that, it was pretty crap, and yes, the IWC knows better than you.
Posted By: Vordeo (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 12:52 AM
"The Women's division has also been quite good. Maryse has been a great Diva's Champion, and she is complemented well by the efforts of Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, Beth Phoenix, Rose Melendez. They will also be aided by Gail Kim and Alicia Fox in the coming weeks. The female wrestlers of WWE don't seem to get the respect they deserve. The Divas on Raw are talented wrestlers."
On that subject, the Maryse-Mickie angle has been very well executed. It's rare that WWE puts this much time (nearly 3 months) and effort into building a title match involving the ladies. In fact, I can't remember it happening since Mickie's very first angle, with Trish Stratus.
Posted By: Guest#0955 (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 12:55 AM
I think the reason people, mainly the IWC, are hating on Raw is that it has taken so long since the Draft for things to get interesting. Not only this, but it has taken Smackdown wrestlers to make it interesting, as well as getting Donald Trump in to raise the ratings. Also, "on fire since mid-June".. it's only the first week of July. That's three Raw's. Four tops. It takes a bit more time for people to change their opinion. If Raw maintains its apparent allure for the next month or so, come back and write another article.
Posted By: brad (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 02:05 AM
You honestly make some really good points. But I'm just so turned off from watching Raw because of:
- Michael Cole
- Triple H vs. Randy Orton
Don't get me wrong, I respect all of them for what they're doing but it's just not so entertaining.
Posted By: Guest#4116 (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 02:25 AM
You forgot to mention promos that allsound the same - because instead of the promos coming from the wrestlers they're written out for them! As long as WWE has writers from sit coms and soap operas writing promos out for the wrestlers, the show won't be good. But they don't have to be good. For example, wrestling used to run many towns in The Mid-Atlantic area weekly. Now they come to a state like North Carolina maybe three times a year so they don't have the challenge of bringing the same fans back every week. They stop by a town once or twice a year now and it's a novelty. It's like the circus coming to town used to be. WWE is the new circus.
Posted By: Jake (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 02:56 AM
Maryse is a HORRIBLE champion.
She gets zero, ZERO reaction. She cant wrestle, and its painful listening to her try and cut a normal promo.
Posted By: uh (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 03:20 AM
mark henry's face turn is going nowhere. they did a similar thing with mvp on his first night on raw. look where he is now. getting squashed by triple h.
Posted By: Guest#0475 (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 04:42 AM
I too enjoy Rose Melendez.
Posted By: Deathpool (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 05:05 AM
Good article.
It is just too bad that the IWC whiners are going to continue to whine and cry like the bitches they are over every little thing. Like I said elsewhere, I bet they would cry a big bucket of tears and shit their pants if they changed the color of the ring ropes from red to green.
Posted By: Guest#5903 (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 06:47 AM
Wow this was the dude who wrote a dud of a column a few weeks back... at least he is consistent.
Seriously Mark Henry ending a Raw coming off a big ratings win the other week.... EPIC Fail.
Requiring to use SD talent thus making the split seem pointless... EPIC Fail.
Diva's division.. meh its ok but hardly anything to get excited about
Orton/HHH/Cena (include Batista if he wasnt injured) strangle hold over the main event scene...EPIC FAIL
Raw is very uninteresting and stale to any fan who has been watching for at least the last 3-4 years.
Posted By: Guest#2563 (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 07:00 AM
I am sorry but Maryse is the most overrated Diva since Sable. Granted she looks beautiful and amazing every RAW, but she has very limited wrestling talent AND that so-called character and charisma is basically a flip of her hair. Wow amazing (NOT!). All she does is 3 moves, and speaks in French and then some broken English and people think THAT'S talent???!! Make her The Miz's valet because that is a role she could do better in.
Funny, I love how people glorify Maryse, yet bash a much-improved worker like Michelle McCool. Michelle is WAY better than Ms Ouellet but since it's 'cool' to hate on her, that can't be said. Granted McCool doesn't have much character either, but don't turn around and say that Maryse does, because flipping your hair back doesn't equal charisma.
The RAW Diva division is a joke. The SmackDown Diva matches have been better each week. On RAW they're blowing moves left and right. Mickie, Beth and Gail (who's now been drafted) are the only ones who can get it done in the ring. The rest are just green or no-hopers.
Posted By: Code Red (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 07:21 AM
maryse may not be the best technical wrestler in the world, but her character is 1 of the best on all of raw and light years ahead of any of the other divas.
Posted By: fred (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 07:40 AM
No mention regarding the fact that next week they'll cement HHH VS ORTON #53271 @ NoC?
Posted By: Aha (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 08:34 AM
Why is a WWE employee writing for this site ?
Posted By: Paul (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 09:53 AM
You speak sense hombre.
Posted By: Propagandhi (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 10:24 AM
When are people going to learn that the IWC actually hates wrestling?
Posted By: Ryan (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 10:55 AM
This is a joke, right?
Posted By: Jason (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 11:07 AM
Your column reached for some good points but kinda lagged in the execution.
I think RAW has definetly had its flubs but it's also had its upsides that the IWC criminally overlooks because it doesn't cater to what they want.
Smackdown is more of the show that caters to pure wrestling fans and smarks, yet it consistently gets lower ratings.
RAW actually has been kinda good lately, but it's cool to hate on it now in the net.
Posted By: lilwayne1 (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 11:50 AM
RAW is a shitty program and I won't give any credit when Vince offers you the same old shit on loop.
Don't act like a Sheep Kristopher Rodriguez, you truly sound like one of those kids in attendance rooting for Cena...
Posted By: Sheep Mania (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 01:35 PM
it's funny, i do actually like raw, but you highlighted almost all the stuff that IS wrong with it.
Posted By: Brett (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 03:46 PM
Eh it was funny the past few weeks, but this gimmick is becoming stale now. Kind of like RAW.
Posted By: Guest#9400 (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 04:19 PM
"When are people going to learn that the IWC actually hates wrestling?
Posted By: Ryan (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 10:55 AM"
No, Vince McMahon hates wrestling. If I'm wrong, tell me the last time you even heard him call what they do in WWE "wrestling." He doesn't even call the wrestlers "wrestlers"; he calls them "Superstars." Vince treats the word wrestling like it's an obscene word.
Posted By: Ted (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 06:33 PM
At what point are you whiny crybabies going to start your "Cancel Raw" bullshit?
They are only 3 years away from celebrating their 20th anniversary. And I hope they stay on the air for another 20 years just to piss you whiny bastards off.
Posted By: Guest#7576 (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 08:39 PM
The 411wrestling comment section is a lot like /b/. Everyone comes here to complain about how much wrestling sucks. Don't waste your time trying to convince them otherwise, because you'll never change their minds.
Posted By: CyberSocko (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 10:18 PM
There is only one man that's responsible for Raw being on fire. And his name is HHH.
Posted By: HHH Rulz (Guest) on July 06, 2009 at 12:59 AM
"frequent use of Smackdown talent" = FAIL For RAW to be fun on its own without ripping SD talent off.
And because of this SD ! talents are getting injured more and more
Ex : Edge, five fights in two nights last week
Posted By: Guest#7745 (Guest) on July 06, 2009 at 01:32 AM
Raw has only been on fire recently when people set the copies they burned to DVD alight.
Posted By: Quimby (Guest) on July 06, 2009 at 08:18 AM
Please turn Mickie back into a lesbian stalker psycho again! That is all
Posted By: Guest#9409 (Guest) on July 06, 2009 at 01:54 PM
This article's a joke right? Because this can't be serious.
Raw is unpredictable? Yes, to the point of making absolutely no sense when it comes to the trump stuff, but when it comes to who's in the main event it is so predictable it's boring.
Maryse, as pointed out by others above, is completely overrated. She has been a disaster as divas champion and the division on RAW has been dead ever since she arrived. Worse still Mickie and Beth, easily two of the best women in the WWE, have been completely wasted in this death zone and should be moved immediately to Smackdown along with Gail who should have never been moved.
The inclusion of the Smackdown crew only just shows that the RAW writers have no faith in their own talent, which may actually be a good point seeing as the matches featuring Smackdown tend to be the best on RAW.
The argument for Triple H squashing MVP is contradictory to Cena having a competitive match with the Miz as both Triple H and Cena basically wrestled the same workload leading up and after their matches, so it simply came down to a case of the writers (and/or Cena himself) allowing the Miz to get in way more offence than the writers (and/or Triple H) were willing to let MVP get in which is counter-productive considering MVP could go far if he wasn't booked as an after thought.
Evan Bourne's credibility was killed completely dead when he was beaten in one move by an already tired and wounded guy.
After years of sucking Mark Henry did not deserve to go over like he did. Does anyone honestly think now is the time this lumbering oaf finally gets over? Even if he does, which in itself would be a miracle, how long before this over 10 year veteran retires? Just simply a retarded move, and to compare it to putting John Morrison (someone with an actual future and real potential) over is a joke.
Posted By: 17 (Guest) on July 06, 2009 at 03:49 PM
"Good article.
It is just too bad that the IWC whiners are going to continue to whine and cry like the bitches they are over every little thing. Like I said elsewhere, I bet they would cry a big bucket of tears and shit their pants if they changed the color of the ring ropes from red to green."
Posted By: Guest#5903 (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 06:47 AM
Green ropes would be pretty cool.
Posted By: Bob (Guest) on July 07, 2009 at 01:06 PM
Maryse rules, no doubt it, but the rest of that rant was pretty idiotic. Shelton and Undertaker had very competitive matches before Shelton lost but MVP dominates an injured HHH and gets hit with the Pedrigree out of the blue for the extremely clean loss. That's as bad as the WM 19 garbage with Booker T. HHH SUCKS. And not even a heel turn can save him this time...he's just a cancer to the business.
Legacy is booked to weak to matter.
Orton is a joke after the Shane McMahon nonsense, no matter what anyone says.
Carlito and Primo are about to get lost in the shuffle.
Posted By: Erik (Guest) on July 08, 2009 at 11:30 AM
"maryse may not be the best technical wrestler in the world, but her character is 1 of the best on all of raw and light years ahead of any of the other divas."
Absolutely right. She is so far ahead of Monotone McCool (and most of the other Divas, for that matter) character-wise and so much more charismatic that it's hard to believe they are in the same position right now on their respective brands.
Posted By: Guest#1273 (Guest) on July 10, 2009 at 04:07 PM
"I am sorry but Maryse is the most overrated Diva since Sable. Granted she looks beautiful and amazing every RAW, but she has very limited wrestling talent AND that so-called character and charisma is basically a flip of her hair. Wow amazing (NOT!). All she does is 3 moves, and speaks in French and then some broken English and people think THAT'S talent???!! Make her The Miz's valet because that is a role she could do better in.
Funny, I love how people glorify Maryse, yet bash a much-improved worker like Michelle McCool. Michelle is WAY better than Ms Ouellet but since it's 'cool' to hate on her, that can't be said. Granted McCool doesn't have much character either, but don't turn around and say that Maryse does, because flipping your hair back doesn't equal charisma."
Maryse is a great bitch heel and can be funny, too (her downplaying of McCool's recent title win when Michael Cole mentioned it was great). Plus, her act just seems natural like it's not much of a stretch for her. I don't think she'd be good as Miz's valet, though, because she would just take the attention away from his matches since she is always so animated and loves hamming it up for the audience.
McCool has shown no semblance of a personality whatsoever. She seems un-natural and forced as both a face and a heel.
Posted By: Guest#2947 (Guest) on July 10, 2009 at 04:22 PM
"Funny, I love how people glorify Maryse, yet bash a much-improved worker like Michelle McCool. Michelle is WAY better than Ms Ouellet but since it's 'cool' to hate on her, that can't be said. Granted McCool doesn't have much character either, but don't turn around and say that Maryse does, because flipping your hair back doesn't equal charisma."
Charisma-wise, Maryse and McCool aren't even on the same planet. McCool seems completely uncomfortable and un-natural at everything except actual wrestling.
Maryse, on the other hand, is either a huge bitch in real life and is therefore not acting at all, or she understands the character perfectly.
Posted By: Guest#1636 (Guest) on July 10, 2009 at 04:41 PM
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