Wrestling's 4R's 2.03.12: WWE Raw & ROH on Sinclair Reviewed

Posted by Larry Csonka on 02.03.2012

From the Undertaker returning to face Triple H and Chris Jericho interrupting the awesome CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan match to the heel turn of Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team and more, Wrestling's 4R's breaks down the Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous of WWE Raw & ROH on Sinclair!



How the 4R's of wRestling Work!
Here is a quick explanation of the 4R's. The column will run TWO times a week. We will group our feelings on the shows in various categories: The Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous. The Right is stuff that worked very well: a great promo, a great match and so on. PuRgatoRy is a section between the right and wrong. It shows equal traits from both sides that cannot be ignored and need discussed. It is not a bad place per say, as things can get remedied or go the wrong way the very next week. The wRong is what it sounds like: bad matches, bad or boring promos and so on. The Ridiculous is stuff that had no right on TV: Stupid angles and so on. And there is always a possibility of a 5th R, which is as bad as they come, unless you are TNA. They have a special R all of their own, the 6th R; the Russo-FN-Riffic~! Of course, that may not happen much any more due to him not having as much power as he used to. This column is supposed to be analytical, and at the right time very critical of the shows, it was the whole reason it was created. This is not a "mark" column, nor a "smark" column, our goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad. We will not apologize for our opinions, they are as they are, whether positive or negative.

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Let's rock…




By: Shawn S. Lealos

ROH Television 01.28.12:

QUICK RESULTS:
- Tomasso Ciampa def. T.J. Perkins
- Michael Elgin def. Grizzly Redwood
- Davey Richards and Kyle O'Reilly def. C&C Wrestling Factory

THE RIGHT:
Grizzly Redwood Promo - I loved this interview with Grizzly Redwood. He talked about how he wasn't expected to live past the age of four since he was born premature and then showed how he fought to get to where he is today. I also loved how the announcers said that his win-loss record was irrelevant because him just fighting was victory enough.

Kevin Steen/Steve Corino Recap - Since few of the new Ring of Honor TV fans have seen Kevin Steen wrestle before. This showed some great footage of the amazing match and included all three cradle piledrivers to Corino, Jimmy Jacobs and El Generico. This now gets the audience ready for the return of Kevin Steen this week on TV. They also finished it up with a nice promo by Steen, proving he is still the top man in Ring of Honor, with a great mix of promo skills and in-ring skills. I also like how he compared himself to Jim Cornette but said that Cornette softened when he got older and doesn't speak his mind anymore. He also said he will go after Davey Richards, which is a great direction.

Eddie Edwards and Kyle O'Reilly - I hated the Davey Richards feud with Eddie Edwards because Davey sounded like a whiney little bitch. However, I do like this stuff with Kyle O'Reilly and O'Reilly idolizing Richards. O'Reillys comments about Davey being so much better than Eddie and how Edwards would not have been a world champion if not for Davey. They also set up how O'Reilly is the one that planted the seeds between Edwards and Richards. I also like ow Eddie calls O'Reilly's views of Davey being a "man crush." I do like that Davey said both men believe they are right but he believes Kyle is the man who has his back. This feud originally sucked but with them focusing attention on Eddie and Kyle, it is getting much more interesting.

WGTT continues heel turn - The WGTT continues to turn heel in a brilliant manner. In a promo, Shelton said they went to Ring of Honor and asked for a rematch for the tag team titles. Charlie then said that their answer was asking for the fine money for the chair shots and booking the WGTT in a match with the Bravado Brothers. They then said they will show up on the next episode with something big to say about the Briscoe Brothers and no one will like it.

Davey Richards and Kyle O'Reilly beat C&C Wrestling Factory - This was easily the best match I have seen from Coleman and Alexander, but that is no surprise with Davey and O'Reilly involved. Both Davey and O'Reilly sold for their opponents and this was just a spectacular TV match. The finish was innovative as well. Eddie showing up at the end to sarcastically clap for them was just icing on the cake.

PURGATORY:
The Embassy - OK. Last week, this was a Wrong because I don't like them shutting up Prince Nana in favor of R.D. Evans. However, the comment section made it clear to me that this might be a face turn for Prince Nana as Evans takes over his stable. In the pre-match promo, Nana began to talk but Evans interrupted him and said it was not about Nana but about Ciampa. Then, on the way to the ring, Evans made the rest of the Embassy return to the locker room except for him and Nana. Nana did interfere in the match to help Ciampa win but before the match Ciampa made it clear he was going to get a better chance with Evans, so he has chosen his horse. This will become a Right as long as Nana does not disappear in the angle. If they push him aside and he is gone, it is a Wrong. Also, with the exception of Jimmy Rave at the iPPV this is the first real competition for Ciampa since ROH TV went nationwide.

THE WRONG:
Grizzly Redwood Loses TV Debut - Look, I understand that his win-loss record is not what is important. I also understand that he will lose most of his matches and that is fine because he shows fight and spunk. However, Redwood was introduced this week and he should have won his first match. It was supposed to be against Devon Storm (Crowbar) and a win over a veteran that old-school WCW fans recognize would be a nice start. Nope. The House of Truth comes out and Michael Elgin gets in the ring. Elgin won't lose here. Elgin should never lose again until he wins a title. This was a no-win situation for Redwood and was not the right way to introduce him to the TV audience. I have to give it some credit because Redwood did fight an amazing match. It was funny seeing Truth dressed up like a loon while the fans chanted Willy Wonka at him.

Mike Bennett - I like Bennett much better with Maria by his side. Bennett is a good talker and Maria is great to look at. However, I do not want to see Bennett continuing to fight Jay Lethal for the TV title. How many chances is Bennett going to get while men like Michael Elgin and Tommaso Ciampa is waiting? Next week, it is Lethal and Bennett or the TV title with no time limit. Oh, joy.

THE RIDICULOUS:
Sound Values - After it looked like Ring of Honor had finally developed solid production values but the sound this week was crap. It sounded like they were talking in a tunnel.

Truth Martini - To Grizzly Redwood: "After this match, you will wish you died as a child." That was a disgusting statement, even for a wrestling heel.

The 411
Great episode of ROH Television this week. The main event was spectacular and both of the undercard matches were solid as well. I still feel that Grizzly should have won his debut, but not over Elgin, so the right man went over in a match that should not have happened yet. I also love the WGTT heel turn and the stuff with Kevin Steen is always great.

SHOW RATING: 7.0

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By: LARRY CSONKA

Raw 1.30.12:
QUICK RESULTS:
- Randy Orton defeated Dolph Ziggler @ 11:00 via pin [***]
- Brodus Clay defeated Tyler Rex @ 1:00 via pin [NR]
- Champion vs. Champion Match: Daniel Bryan defeated CM Punk via DQ @15:00 [***¾]
- Kofi Kingston defeated The Miz @ 4:00 via pin [*¾]
- Diva's Title Match: Beth Phoenix defeated Eve @ 0:30 via pin [NR]

THE RIGHT:
WHAT THE FUNK?:I I know some people seem to be sick of him, but Brodus Clay is easily one of the highlights of any show these days. The guy is just fun, the chicks are hot, the crowd likes him and he kills geeks every time he is out there. He is a harmless mid-card act for now, and he is getting lots of TV time, which is great for him. Long live the Funkasauraus, he is a good man my friends.

Beth Kills Eve, Kane Plays Mind Games, Does John Cena Have to Kill a Bitch?: Earlier in the night, Johnny Ace announced that Eve would get her title shot against Beth Phoenix. Eve came to the ring freaked out and Beth killed her, right quick and in a hurry. Normally this would upset me, but in the context of the story it made sense. Kane then appeared on the screen, threatening to kill Zack Ryder because Cena wouldn't embrace the hate. He then said that Eve would be his conduit, and then appeared to take her like she was Katie Vick. This brought out John Cena, who thrashed Kane around ringside with extreme prejudice. While I have not been a fan of the angle, I felt that this all came off well ad sets the stage for the rumored last man standing match at the PPV. Again, I am still not thrilled with the feud, but this was the best thing they have done thus far.

Johnny Ace Read My Rumble Review Because He Talked About Fives, Triple H Has Fun, OH SHIT THE UNDERTAKER's HERE IN A WIG… SOMEONE GONNA DIE: The main event angle of the show has seemingly received a lot of hate, due to the big return, but overall I liked how the show ended. First up was the job evaluation of Johnny Ace. Big Johnny had spent the night glad-handing and ass kissing to employees and the fans in an effort to keep his job, and the way he did it was great and fit his character. He came to the ring and explained about his evaluation, and said that part of that was a self-evaluation. He then proceeded to give himself perfect fives across the board, praising himself in a very smug fashion. This brought out Triple H for the job evaluation. Triple H of course made fun of him, making him apologize and even teasing the kiss my ass club. After calling Big Johnny a freak, Triple H explained that the board of directors gave him the power to take his job back whenever he wanted, because eh was over his personal issues, and since Big Johnny was getting personal, he was going to the boot. Just as Triple H was about to future endeavor him…DONG…the return of the Deadman happened. Now I know that all the haters are out in force here, "Taker wore a wig, I don't want to see the match again," and I get that, and that is fine. I liked it. It makes sense for them to do this, because Triple H had mentioned how he ended Taker, so the Deadman wants revenge. Taker let Triple H know what he wanted with a look to the WM sign and the cutthroat sign, but Triple H just patted him on the shoulder and walked away. You see, he is Corporate H now, and all of his personal issues are behind him. I think that this is a fine start to the program that will eventually see Triple H accept the match with his career on the line, and eventually send him into full time corporate mode. And I liked the match last year, and am curious to see if they can do it again.

PURGATORY:
Elimination Chamber Contestants Announced While Johnny Ace Kisses Ass: The opening of Raw was a bit of a mixed bag, but overall not bad. As I go on I think you'll understand why I have put it in the purgatory. First of all We had Johnny Ace, coming to the ring, glad-handing with the fans and generally being awesome. He then took the time to announce the participants for the Elimination Chamber. They were CM Punk, Chris Jericho, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, R-Truth, and Kofi Kingston. While I was glad that they made the announcement, I couldn't help but feel that they could have had qualifying matches or something that made us believe that they deserved it. Let's face it, and I can hear the complaints now, but these guys haven't exactly been the best booked lately. What has Kofi done to deserve a WWE Title shot? The Miz has been a loser, Truth is fine I suppose, Ziggler looked like a goof and afterthought at the Rumble and Jericho, well he is Chris Jericho, but what has he done since he has been back to deserve it? Well at least Cena's not in the title picture for now. And then Punk's music hit. He came out singing the "goodbye" song, and while he is a smart ass, this felt a bit too much like John Cena comedy for him. he quickly made fun of Johnny, who made a match between Punk and Bryan. Bryan and Punk's interaction was fun and set the stage for their match later in the night. Finally our Rumble Winner Sheamus came to the ring. He teased a bit who he may challenge, before making fun of Ace, who everyone expected to be on the way out. Overall a fine opening, but I had a few issues with it.

Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler: The first of two good matches on Raw was Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler. While we didn't get to see much of Orton in the Rumble, we got to see him in extended action here, and the good news is that he performed very well. While the injury was unfortunate, Orton looked fresh, crisp and rejuvenated in the ring. It also doesn't hurt that he was working with Ziggler, who is always out to steal the show. This was a very strong TV match, and Orton takes the win, letting everyone know that he is back. But I have a problem here. And this is nothing new if you have listened to the podcast or read the columns, but having Dolph Ziggler in the match again hurts him. I know that people will tell me that he will get over with consistently good performances, and to a point that is true. But the bottom line is that the guy loses EVRY big time match, thusly when he gets into a big match, the regular fan doesn't think he will win. You'd think that they would have booked Dolph for a win after losing at the Rumble. Unfortunately it was more important for Orton to win and have a match with a guy that would ensure he looked good.

Champion vs. Champion: While Ziggler and Orton had a very good match, Punk and Bryan took things up another level. And this should be no surprise to anyone that has been paying attention to their careers, let alone the last few months of WWE TV. Simply put, the match was spectacular and man, all I could think when Jericho ran in, which I was expecting, was if they had five more minutes and a clean finish, this would have been so great. Not to take away from what they did, it was good and it obviously served the purpose. We got quality wrestling; Jericho causes the DQ, which allows Bryan to win and celebrate like a maniac, and allows Jericho to get the heat by laying out Punk with the Code Breaker. It all worked well and that was good TV. But I can hear it now, people complaining to be that I am being critical of a good match. "Have fun Larry, just enjoy it." Well, that's not exactly the purpose of this column kids. I have to place this in purgatory, simply for the fact that they once again threw away the Champion vs. Champion match. WWE has done this all too often with the secondary titles and the world titles, and I feel that it is short sighted and again, this is another reason that people tend not to care and why PPV buys are down. By constantly throwing away matches of this type and ruining stipulations, they are hurting the product. Sure we had a great match and good angle setup, but at what cost?

The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston: The Miz and Kofi Kingston faced off on Monday Night Raw, and overall they had a fine little TV match. That's not meant to sound like an insult, but after two very good to great matches on the same show, and only giving them four-minutes, they did what they needed to and it was a fine little sprint. But here is my fear, and that is the booking of matches like this, which we have seen way too many times. We are building to the Chamber match, and again I have issues with HOW these men have been booked prior to the announcement, but I fear that it will only get worse. Get ready for a few weeks of the Elimination Chamber guys trading wins and vying for he title of biggest loser before heading into the big match. Tag team matches, singles matches, triple threats and more, mark my words, these guys will beat each other over and over again, and none of them will be any better off for it, they will just try to be the guy that loses the least.

THE WRONG:
Nothing

THE RIDICULOUS:
Nothing

The 411
While last week's TV left a lot to be desired, and I will admit that I was down on he Rumble, WWE Monday Night Raw did a lot of work to rehab the beginning of the Road to WrestleMania. We got two very strong matches, they announced the Elimination Chamber competitors, Jericho started his feud with Punk, and we got the long-awaited return of the Undertaker. Again, I was very disappointed in the Rumble event overall, but this show did a lot to repair that. While I had my issues with some things that I feel are constant issues with the booking of the company, I felt that this was a very good show. Not only was it quality, but I had a lot of fun watching.

SHOW RATING: 8.0

As a reminder, I will be going by the 411 scale..

0 - 0.9: Torture
1 - 1.9: Extremely Horrendous
2 - 2.9: Very Bad
3 - 3.9: Bad
4 - 4.9: Poor
5 - 5.9: Not So Good
6 - 6.9: Average
7 - 7.9: Good
8 - 8.9: Very Good
9 - 9.9: Amazing
10: Virtually Perfect

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