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Wrestling’s 4R’s Friday 7.23.10: Raw and NXT Reviewed!
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By: Jeremy Thomas
Raw 07.19.10:
QUICK RESULTS:
Randy Orton d. Edge and Chris Jericho [*** ¼]
Eve d. Maryse [¼ *]
Sheamus d. Evan Bourne [** ½]
Vladimir Kozlov & Santino Marella d. Zack Ryder & William Regal [* ¼]
Wade Barrett d. Mark Henry [* ½]
RANDY ORTON vs. CHRIS JERICHO vs. EDGE: Raw kicked off with a bang, as we got the main event first. That’s one way to get the crowd pumped…kinda sets the bar overly high, but that’s the risk you take. The crowd was understandably pumped for this one since it was three of the most over guys on the brand facing off here, and all three did their utmost to start the show off strong. Edge and Jericho started off with a temporary alliance against Orton until Randy turned the tide with a double DDT, and as soon as he was stopped things fell apart between the heels. It’s not surprising of course, considering how much Edge and Jericho still have unresolved. This followed the standard triple threat formula of “take one guy out and have a one-on-one match with the others” and carried it off well. The story here was Orton battling the odds, since no matter how much they fought each other Edge and Jericho were more focused on Orton. We did have some fun battle moments between Edge and Jericho though like the spear into the Walls. The near-falls were well-executed and everyone was sharp there in the ring until Orton finally took control and two RKO’s later he was the number one contender. Orton vs. Sheamus wasn’t a great match at the Royal Rumble, but I’m confident they can top themselves there so I’m okay with this. The match wasn’t a non-spot string of high spots but it worked very well and it kicked off Raw strongly.
MIZ MAKES HIS CASE/SHEAMUS vs. EVAN BOURNE: Midway through the show, Sheamus came out and basically bragged about beating Cena and ignoring that the Nexus was involved. He then addressed the Nexus and said they he was doing a truce with them. He was leaving them alone, they were leaving him alone, and everything was copacetic. I liked this alliance, because it makes sense for Sheamus. But all was not good news for Sheamus, because the Miz came down and basically told him that he would be waiting in the wings to cash it in at any moment. Miz’s promo was very good, Sheamus was solid and it played out nicely. Sheamus basically told Miz to piss off and started to leave, but… “YOU’VE GOT MAIL!” The GM then told Miz to take a seat because Sheamus was taking on Evan Bourne.
One nice touch as this match started; Bourne was wrapping up, which sells the idea that it was an impromptu match. We’ve seen this match before obviously, but that was when Sheamus was starting off as WWE champion and Evan was a nobody. Here things were very different for both men, and it ended up being a somewhat more even contest that allowed Bourne to look like he can hang in the main event. The man is still of course the best seller in the WWE and that makes him perfect for Sheamus, who needs people to really sell his power offense. It also makes for a great underdog situation that keeps the crowd behind Bourne. Furthermore, losing to Sheamus is no demotion for Bourne at all. This was exactly as long as it needed to be and worked out well; it also had the great moment where Miz cashed in his shot but didn’t because the bell never rang and Truth came out. The crowd was teased nicely and Sheamus’s ass was saved, which works fine for all involved.
NEXUS OR AGAINST US? CENA CHOOSES…: After their opening match, Edge was still in the ring and he was pissed. He called out Jericho, saying that it had gone on long enough. As Jericho came out, Edge shouted that it had to end right here, right now and Jericho was pissed, demanding a mic. Jericho walked into the ring and said that for the first time in eleven years they agreed on something; it was ending tonight. Jericho brought up the props he got from Wade Barrett last week, which pretty much guaranteed the ass-beating that was coming. Edge countered that he could get the Nexus to do his bidding, and that brought out Team N. They hit the ring and Wade said that there was no reason to argue with them. He gave them their props, then surrounded Edge and beat him down. That was all well and good with Jericho until they turned on him. Wade then said that they wanted to shut up the guy claiming all of Team N’s success, which meant a beatdown for them. This played out well, and would work into the finish of the show nicely.
Before then though, we had a little business to cover. Sheamus said he had business to discuss with Sheamus, though the Fella didn’t seem pleased. We then went to John Cena who put over the Nexus nicely and said that no one could stop them. He gave a good promo where he said he could see the writing on the wall, and he wanted to meet Nexus in the ring and teased that he might join the Nexus. This was given credence later in the show by a segment where Sheamus had his truce with them. Eventually we found ourselves at the end, and Michael Tarver said they would listen to what they had to say if Cena apologized for attacking even-weirder-hair-than-before Evil Cena and Tarver himself. Cena came out and the crowd was kind of subdued, because they didn’t know what was going to happen here. Cena came out and offered a truce and apology; Barrett said no because he was looking for something bigger. He wanted Cena to join the Nexus, and that got the biggest Cena chant I’ve heard in a LONG time. Anyone else think this Nexus thing isn’t hugely over? Well, you’re wrong. Cena turned them down and the crowd popped huge. Barrett told him to leave with his tail tucked, or stay and get the worst beating ever. Cena started to leave. But he stopped then, and said he was going to beat them. That then brought out his team that would take Nexus on at SummerSlam—Edge, Morrison, R-Truth, Great Khali, Chris Jericho and Bret Hart. Now, if that’s not the most surreal team ever, I don’t know what is. One can argue that it doesn’t make much sense, but I like it because it shows once again how the Nexus is just as serious as any invasion that’s had twice to three times as many guys. This was a great way to finish the show and get us started to SummerSlam. I’ll admit, I could do without Khali, but hey whatever works.
WADE BARRETT vs. MARK HENRY: Wait, the Nexus wrestles? Really? I kid, I kid. It was about time, and Wade was of course the right guy to have taken the first match. I also think that Mizark was the right opponent; he’s not a main eventer but people view him as one because his size means that he’s always a threat. He’s the Kane of Raw….well, without the World Title anyway. They did some psyching each other out early before the wrestling began, and while it’s no stretch to say it wasn’t great, I didn’t mind it for the most part. Barrett wasn’t exactly wrestling Chris Jericho or Shawn Michaels in there, and he can only do so much. They put Mizark over a bit before Barrett took control, though that didn’t last long. Henry then got distracted and Barrett went for a slam that looked frankly near-botched. It was an impressive show of strength and people will remember that instead of the near-FUBAR, but imagine how bad that could have been.
SANTINO MARELLA & VLADIMIR KOZLOV vs. ZACK RYDER & WILLIAM REGAL: Okay, really? I know that Ryder and Regal are the enhancement talent, but they can’t even get entrances? Sad. This match had a few fun moments that mixed comedy and in-ring work, but overall it was a dull match that ran too short and didn’t do anything to put Santino and Koz over. They should be doing more backstage segments, because they would be great in that capacity. Against people like Ryder & Regal in short nothing matches, it’s not much to speak of. And this match was certainly nothing to speak of.
DID YOU KNOW?: Nope. And, as always, I don’t care.
EVE vs. MARYSE: The in-ring return of Maryse would, in most cases, make me happy because it means we’d see more of her in her ring gear. And Maryse certainly did look smashing in her outfit. Eve was looking good too; Ted DiBiase, not so much. Ted joined Lawler and Cole for commentary and talked about himself as in the ring Maryse took control of the match early. I like Maryse, and I like Eve. People don’t seem to get that I like them, but I do. But seriously, what the hell was this? It was done in like a minute, and came out of nowhere. There was no opportunity for a match, just a couple moments so Eve could get another shot at Alicia. Yeah, no thanks. The Morrison/DiBiase thing was fine, because at least they weren’t talking, but it sure as hell didn’t save this.
Really strong show to get us kicked off toward SummerSlam. There was little wasted motion or little wasted time, resulting in a lean, mean show that I really dug. Sure, we had Butterfly BS and the go-nowhere tag match, but otherwise there’s not much to complain about. I liked this a lot and hope they can keep it up. SHOW RATING: 8.0 |
By: Michael Bauer
NXT 07.20.10:
QUICK RESULTS:
Cody Rhodes and Husky Harris defeated MVP and Percy Watson [*1/2]
Alex Riley defeated Lucky Cannon [1/4*]
THE MVP LOUNGE / MVP AND PERCY WATSON VS. CODY RHODES AND HUSKY HARRIS: We open with the MVP lounge with a very serious MVP bringing out his rookie, Percy Watson. MVP gets right to business, not liking what Percy did, but understanding it. They make amends and Matt Striker plays the role of Buzz Killington, bringing up next week’s elimination and asking why Percy should win the vote. MVP pretty much hypes up his charisma and they get cut off just in time for Rhodes, Harris, and Rhodes’ mirror to come out. Rhodes says Harris is the man of the people, since he actually looks like the people, but he can run a 4.9 forty. Harris says some gibberish and we have our tag team match. The promos were fine, just as the match was. Watson definitely needs some more work in the ring, but he did pretty well for his limited action. The double tag was made and MVP was cleaning house, but definitely worried about Harris too much. Rhodes nailed that enzuigiri and let Harris finish the job with the senton splash for the three count. It was the first pro to be pinned by a rookie this season and it was about damn time. Overall, the match had its moments, but was nothing ground breaking. But combine it with the MP lounge, it was a right.
VARIOUS “WHY ARE YOU #1” STATEMENTS: Throughout the show, we had the rookies and their pros saying why they should be number one on the next poll that comes out next week. And generally, these were pretty good. MVP and Harris I just discussed and I’ll talk about Riley and Cannon later. But like the three I will mention here, all of them were pretty good. Eli used his size to show that he needs to be feared and nobody else can do that. Not the greatest selling point, but he was sticking to the character. Kaval and Lay-Cool hyped up his talent and his work ethic, while Kaval then added that he would face anyone in the WWE. Seriously, Kaval vs. Mysterio is a match I would sell my soul for. Michael keeps this “chosen one” gimmick going, which I guess is ok, but his delivery needs a little work. Still, everything we saw worked from all seven rookies and pros, and it came off as everyone looking like they belong.
MICHAEL MCGILLICUTTY PRO’S VIDEO: This was one of the best videos we have seen yet from any season of NXT. Pretty much, every pro gave him praise for some aspect about him. The Miz didn’t, but it’s The Miz, what do you expect? They put over everything from his heritage to his passion. Miz went the route of him being cocky because of his past and how his thinks he can live off of that. Rhodes said Michael had yet to bring the promised “ruthless aggression”, which is a very good point. Morrison tried to talk charisma, but said he had nothing to work with as he doesn’t get a chance. Had to like the honest comments that were neither positive nor negative.
LUCKY CANNON PRO’S VIDEO: Lucky had the first video of the night and it, well, didn’t do much for me. The video was spot on, even if it was mostly negative about Lucky. He is pretty bland, pretty plain, and like Morrison said “plenty of people have the height and the look”. Kofi and Lay-Cool were positive towards him and of course Mark was. But it just didn’t make me want to see more of him.
RETURN OF THE OBSTACLE COURSE CHALLENGE: So we get a return of the obstacle course, complete with us seeing Matt Striker run the course before the show. This year, they wised up and got rid of the running half way across the building to drink a soda part of the program. I’m also glad they didn’t break it up between the entire show this year and just had one segment at the end of the show for everyone to run through it. It was pretty much what you would expect. Eli too big to balance, Harris to slow to have a chance, and Kaval too small to push the crate fast enough. Michael is the total package and won the event and immunity. Nothing wrong, as it was much better than last year, but still was quite pathetic.
ALEY RILEY BEATS LUCKY CANNON IN A MINUTE: This started with Lucky not telling us to vote for him, but to thank everyone for letting him perform for us. Again, we get it, he is lucky to be here. Riley then tells us to do what is right and if we care about this, we would vote him in. Riley played his role perfectly and The Miz did as well. If they played this right, building off the great promo work, this would have been golden. But they didn’t. We got a one minute match with Riley getting beat down, ducking a flying cross body and Lucky gets unlucky as he is drilled with a TKO and pinned. Then, The Miz has to be himself and drill Lucky with the briefcase and the Skull Crushing Finale onto the briefcase. If Lucky is not in dead last next week, there will be no justice after this crap.
NOTHING
No Kaval match for the third straight week is already a strike against this. You had one decent match and one crap fest, while all the focus needed to be towards the vote next week and giving every rookie a chance to impress, not just four of them. Pretty bad show overall. SHOW RATING: 3.0 |
…and remember to stay grounded!
T – 9
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