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Wrestling’s 4Rs 6.14.13: WWE Monday Night Raw & ROH TV Reviewed – Plus The Updated 2013 PPV Rankings
How the 4Rs 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. 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.
Let’s rock…
By: Shawn S. Lealos
ROH Television 06.08.13:
QUICK RESULTS:
Steve Corino and Nigel McGuinness – This week, Nigel was on color commenter duties thanks to Corino walking out last week when none of SCUM were in the No. 1 contender matches for the TV or tag team titles. What made Corino’s promo perfect was that he was telling the truth the entire time, explaining that C&C Wrestle Factory won a tag team contender’s match despite losing to Rhett Titus and Cliff Compton, while those men were not even in the match. He pointed out that Jimmy Jacobs beat Jay Lethal, but Lethal got into the TV contender’s match and Jacobs didn’t get the chance. When Nigel brought out those three faces, Corino snapped his finger and a brawl broke out. The best villains are the ones who believe they are right, and Corino fits that mold.
American Wolves vs. Briscoe Brothers – There is no way this match couldn’t be good, and the four men did not disappoint. The only real downfall was the TV time remaining and the fact they couldn’t go all out in a long match. I liked how the American Wolves finally beat the Briscoe Brothers for the first time ever, and they made that out to be a big deal. I also liked how the Briscoe Brothers lost due to mis-communication, leading into their world title match, but did not show them being bitches out it after the fact. It was an entertaining match and was booked pretty solidly.
Matt Taven vs. Pepper Parks – So, this starts out with Truth Martini coming out and challenging anyone from the back to fight in a Proving Ground match against his TV champ Matt Taven. Pepper Parks, who looked pretty good a few weeks back, answered the challenge and the two fought a respectable match, but it was nothing great or special. Honestly, Taven needs to be flashier in his in-ring work to play off his arrogance and Parks just seems kind of bland – a less intense BJ Whitmer. The match was there, it wasn’t bad enough to call a wRong and it was pretty much just a warm up match to help fans remember Taven before he fights Jay Lethal at Best in the World.
Tomasso Ciampa’s Return – The first match back for Tomasso Ciampa should have been a dominating squash. He should have come out and destroyed someone to follow up on his beat down of RD Evans and QT Marshall last week. When his opponent was Rip Impact, I assumed that was what we were getting and I was happy. Then Impact really started to take it to Ciampa. Now, I understand ROH wanting to make their matches competitive, but there are times where a squash needs to be a squash (like how they treated Rhino when he came back). The only good part of this match, outside of watching Ciampa hitting his moves, was when he stole Michael Elgin’s hanging suplex, which brought Elgin out to the ring. It wasn’t a bad match, but it is not the match they should have had in Ciampa’s return to the ring.
NOTHING
There was one great match and one great promo on the show, which is pretty good for its hour running time. However, I thought the Tomasso Ciampa booking for his return was weak and the Proving Ground match just wasn’t that special. Overall, this was a show to catch for the main event and Corino promo but little else. SHOW RATING: 6.5 |
By: Tony Acero
RAW! 06.10.13:
QUICK RESULTS
– Curt Axel Defeated Triple H via DQ [NR]
– Curt Axel Defeated Triple H via Forfeit [NR]
– Kane Defeated Dean Ambrose via DQ [***]
– The Miz Defeated Cody Rhodes [*1/2]
– Chris Jericho Defeated Big E. Langston [**1/2]
– Antonio Cesaro Defeated Sin Cara [***]
– Randy Orton and Roman Reigns Fought to a No Contest [**1/2]
– Daniel Bryan Defeated Seth Rollins [****]
– Damien Sandow Defeated R-Truth [*1/2]
KANE VS AMBROSE: Another solid match in a long line of solid matches from these guys. This time, Kane and Ambrose go at it and do quite the good job of keeping things intense and amazing. I think far too many people (myself included) are giving credit to The Shield, and not enough to guys like Orton, Kingston, or Kane, who have been the bouncing board of The Shield for the past few months. In this instance, Kane continues to be one of the better big men out there and has seen a reinvigorated momentum in his life for the past year or so. He has seriously had one hell of a pep in his step for a while, now, and I think it has a lot to do with who he is working with. Since Punk and Bryan, till now, Kane has been on fire (see what I did there), and long as he is motivated, he continues to have great matches such as this one tonight.
ZIGGLES RETURNS: What better way to return than to insult Jericho? I loved every minute of this, even Jericho channeling his “I need to win” Cena-esque promo. It seemed a bit too late to proclaim this, and I guess it’s a bit hard to sell the match with Punk not there, but I think if anyone really wants to see this match, the names involved alone sell it. Anyways, Dolph is back, and I loved the tease. I mean, I saw it coming (we all saw it coming), but there’s nothing wRong with that.
The match itself, with Big E and Jericho, was also fun. A few minor misteps here or there are ok, because Langston is somethin. He is really somethin. The boy is lithe with movements and young. Hell, he’s younger than me! He’s got years to grow, and will only do that with time in the ring with the likes of Jericho.
ROLLINS VS BRYAN: If you didn’t like this match, then you have no fucking soul! A great start, an amazing middle, a slightly under whelming finish, but fully forgiven due to the other 99% of the match. We saw some shit we ain’t seen before (and yes, I’m aware that at least some of you have)! Unique counters, archaic moves, exciting storytelling, and some beautiful spots throughout. We have been waiting for this altercation, and they did not disappoint. I can’t say enough good things about this match, which is why I’ll be doing more in the 5&1…I think.
Last week, I spoke about Bryan at length regarding his push, and did so in the 5&1 as far as whether or not he and Cena going head-to-head is a good idea. If we continue to get matches like we did tonight, then I think we’re going to be quite alright.
AJ: If you didn’t see this secret admirer angle turning into anything but a ruse, then you haven’t watched enough wrestling. I will admit that I didn’t know if it was The Bellas or AJ, but assumed it was my beloved. Big E came out lookin all kinds of swank to confess a feelin, only for AJ to one-up this and destroy Kaitlyn’s idea of love. The story is simple but effective, and most importantly – a story! In the Divas division! A storyline that entails a match within! Whoa! What a novel idea! AJ did great as her lil psycho self, and I am willing to bet more people are interested in the feud now than they have been in any female feud for the past few years…
MIZ: And with one concussion, we are back to the boring and tried match of Miz and Barrett…or are we?
Before I talk about Axel’s entrance into the match, let me say that the short match between Cody and Miz really could have gone somewhere, and although I liked the time they gave us, it meant nothing when they cut the match short. Miz hardly got offense in, and instead did a mini version of Super-Cena with a Figure Four from “out of nowhere” to win the match, even after Cody worked the leg for the entire match. Nothing wRong with it, since I think it’s personal preference that takes over logic in this particular instance, but if I had to choose Cody or Miz, I’d choose the mustached one.
As for the IC Title picture, I was really excited with the prospect of Fandango going for the title, and entering Axel into the picture really makes me consider how serious they are taking this guy. From main event matches with big names, and fluke wins, to this…I think it’s a step down, to be honest, which – again – makes me believe they never had any real intentions of pushing this guy to the moon to start off with. When he was announced, no one cared. This Axel thing was done wRong from the start, and the crowd reaction, as well as the apathy felt towards this all really proves it. If he wins the belt, then what? He’s midcard fodder. If he loses, where’s his momentum gone?
COLTER: You know what sucks? I enjoyed the FUCK out of the match that Cesaro and Sin Cara had. Seriously, have they tangoed before, because I have to see this again. It was amazing! I want so much more, seriously. What a whetting of the appetite. Why is this in the puRg section then?
Well, because we have something illogical here. Good ol Zeb came to town to tout his racial propaganda. Now look, I don’t really care about this because I’m Mexican. I happen to love many things about the character that Zeb portrays. What I find deplorable is that rather than focusing on a match that was sweet as fuck, a match that had the crowd in the palm of their hands, a match that deserves far more credit than it will ever get, we have focus on the commentary. A commentary that will lead to what? Does this mean Cara is getting a little push? Will we have Zeb going after him now? And what of the obvious double standards (kayfabe) of saying what he was saying while another immigrant was in the ring in Cesaro? Sure, Zeb’s character could easily be one that “doesn’t make sense” since most racially discriminatory issues do not, but that’s not how they have portrayed Zeb. Either way, I don’t want to talk much more about it other than that they really screwed the pooch here.
ORTON VS REIGNS: You know, I liked the match, I really did. But there were far too many slow spots that really bothered me. I recall when I used to recap RAW, how often Orton would resort to the chinlock, and how often a lot of others did, to be fair. I realized the wrestlers needed a rest spot, but there were ways to make it interesting, and he never did – nor did a few others. I bring this up because Reigns showed signs of this WWE Style, and it really slowed everything down, causing this match to be taken down a few notches. I suppose, however, that slowing the match down only made what followed all the more invigorating.
SANDOW AND TRUTH: A simple match to get the point across that Sandow has some semblance of #winning in him. It’s nice to see some support behind him, and I’m hoping that since it’s on the Pre-Show, Sandow gets the win for a rematch of sorts.
VINCE MCTROLL: The first few minutes were quite odd, and something that made me roll my eyes. Admittedly, however, it was in a bit of a fun and funny way. Trips and Vince doing their own little power struggle was funny, and Vince taking the bell and mic with him made me chuckle heartily. With Vince getting the last word, I was at least intrigued…but that’s where it all stopped. Every segment thereafter that had a McMahon or Triple H involved was dreadful. First, we get the screeching mannerisms of one Stephanie McMahon. I tell you, I haven’t heard that shrill in years, but a few hundred more wouldn’t be enough between now and the next time. Then, we get the setup, where Steph thinks she is being oh so sly.
Finally, we get the masturbatory session between the three that really solved nothing, went on too long, and made it seem like this was all just a way to pass the time from now until…whatever the hell they want to do with Triple H. This thing started off being a way to get Curtis Axel over, right? I never thought so, and judging by the way this is all going, I don’t think they ever thought that, either. We continue to try to build up Triple H as some prideful and valiant warrior, but it just comes off as self-congratulatory and annoying.
LUMBERJACKS LUMBER: It’s somewhat sad that the two biggest stories in the WWE right now are the ones that seemingly no one is interested in. Cena and HHH are really doin a lot to make people want to change the channel, aren’t they? This final segment of the show was apparently supposed to move us towards the buyer’s section of the fanbase, but I don’t see how it could have considering how anti-climactic it all was and how much they were talking over each other. Typically, this calls for a more realistic feel, but this time it just seemed like Cena was attempting to get all his shit and control the promos. Then Ryback goes ahead and defies logic by saying he’s going to handle Cena in all three of the matches, which isn’t possible if he wins the first two. And of course, we get the four week wait for Cena to say…
“Payback’s a bitch.”
NOTHING
RAW was great. It truly was a great show with some solid action, and an amazing match in the middle. Bryan continues to shine, and I don’t know if the past few weeks are indicitive of the future or not, but the crowds have been super hot. Unfortunately, Triple H and Co think the show should revolve around them and Cena, and that’s unfortunate. If you can ignore the numerous segments of Triple H and McMahon’s little soap opera, then you’re in for a treat. Just keep your finger on the Fast Forward button… SHOW RATING: 8.0 |
YEAR IN REVIEW (PPV) by Larry Csonka:
TOP PPVs:
TOP PPV MATCHES:
We’re comin…
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