WHAT I LIKED:
Opening Segment: I've finally figured it out. I kept wondering how Big Show was getting into the arenas and having his theme music played even though he's been fired. It didn't make sense. But after seeing how Big Show was 'live via satellite' tonight, I think I have it figured out. It's not just the superstars that a rebelling against The Authority, the workers are as well. Stephanie McMahon went on a tirade to the cameramen and technician at ringside while Triple H & Big Show had a shouting match. And through that, she was able to get Big Show's feed disconnected. It only stands to reason that if someone could cut his feed, someone had to allow it as well. And notice how during all of Big Show's appearances, we haven't seen the world's worst security team trying (and failing) to keep him at bay. They were there just a few weeks ago when Cody Rhodes & Goldust did a run-in, so you know they're still around.
Bryan vs Ambrose: Great match to start RAW off right. I LOVE it when Daniel Bryan faces a wrestler that also honed his craft in the indy leagues, because it allows both him and his opponent to have a match that isn't WWE-style. They attempt different holds and submission maneuvers and counters that we don't normally see in a RAW match. It seems to me that there is a level of trust there that doesn't exist when facing the wrestlers that the WWE machine creates. I strongly doubt we're going to see Daniel Bryan utilize the Surfboard Stretch on Randy Orton come Sunday, even though the crowd eats it up when he does it. Orton isn't built to take that move and he definitely couldn't execute it. Again, a great match that could have easily been a main event. Instead, we have to settle for another contract signing, that's sure to end with a brawl. They always do.
Ziggler vs Orton: Poor Dolph Ziggler. With Randy Orton being Randy Orton and also having a WWE Championship match in a week, Ziggler has no chance of winning this match. At least by the looks of it, this should be a match that rivals the opening contest between Bryan & Ambrose. They're going the route of having both competitors in the WWE Championship match compete and win a solid match against a formidable competitor. While I'm not thrilled that Ambrose and Ziggler have to be the guinea pigs, I LIKE that they're viewed as 'formidable competitors,' This was a decent match, even though it wasn't as technical as the match above. Orton is a punch-kicker at best, but he does it well. The crowd being hot for both Orton and Ziggler made this match better than it already was.
Wyatt Family vs Miz/Kofi: When I heard that Bray Wyatt was injured, I naturally figured that'd be the end of the burgeoning rivalry between he and The Miz. Thankfully, Bray has minions in the form of Erick Rowan and Luke Harper that can do his bidding for him. And these two guys may seem like just two of WWE's BIG MEN, but they're actually pretty talented. Plus, it allows for Kofi Kingston to stay in this rivalry too because Miz needs a tag team partner. I'm not the biggest fan of Kofi, I just LIKE that his inclusion means that the little mini-rivalry he has with Wyatt wasn't just brushed aside. I'll be happy when Bray Wyatt can wrestle again, but I'll take this for now as long as the matches continue to be this exciting. On a separate note, does anybody else find it odd that Luke Harper has the same finisher as Natalya? Is it just me?
Axel/Ryback vs Punk/Langston: I LIKE the babyface turn for Big E Langston. I've LIKED Langston since he had an impressive series of matches against Alberto Del Rio in Dolph Ziggler's stead. He's a BIG MAN, no doubt. But he's also pretty agile and a little technical too. I saw the tag team match coming from a mile away. As soon as they showed Ryback in the ring alongside Curtis Axel, I figured the double team on Langston and the subsequent save from CM Punk wasn't too far behind. I'm glad they did it. Having Punk for a tag partner worked well for R-Truth, and the same should happen for Langston. Is it just me again, or is it kinda funny to hear Axel call Langston a rookie? I know Axel isn't a rookie anymore - and technically never was - but he's still fairly new to the main roster. Since there's a rumor of an Intercontinental Championship match at Hell in a Cell between Langston and Axel, I have to figure that Langston will pin Axel to win this match and 'earn' that title shot. And I figured correctly. I sound sarcastic, but I LIKE the move. I want to see that Intercontinental Championship match and I really hope Langston wins. Axel has been disappointing despite having the IC Title around his waist and Paul Heyman in his corner.
The Usos vs The Shield: How is this fair to The Usos? They won their #1 Contendership fair and square, only to be overlooked when the better storyline came along. As I said before, it's good that the better storyline did come along and I'm not crying any tears for The Usos. But it's not fair for them to have to possibly lose their title shot due to careless booking on WWE's part. Of course, they aren't the first and won't be the last victim of that culprit. Albeit to be fair, The Shield has a rematch clause that they could be deprived of if they lose the match too. So it works out as unfair on both sides. I really LIKED the dickering between Cody Rhodes & JBL. I laughed at Cody calling JBL's yelling a 'Fox News Freakout' and JBL's insult of Dusty Rhodes, saying "he hasn't been 68 since '74." Hilarious. Not a bad match, but I wouldn't have booked it as a main event. I am proud of WWE for making the Tag Team Championships a priority as of late. It was the right move to have that match end in No Contest. The only fair thing to do is to have a Triple Threat Tag Team match at Hell in a Cell. Well, the fair thing would have been to not allow Cody Rhodes & Goldust to usurp The Usos' title shot to begin with, but you have to LIKE how this all has played out.
Contract Signing: This might've the least confrontational contract signing ever. Not much in the way of physicality, but plenty of posturing. And I LIKED it a lot. I mostly enjoyed the conversation between Shawn Michaels and Triple, when HBK was questioning why Hunter didn't like Daniel Bryan. It seemed that most of the points HHH was making about Daniel Bryan being undersized and not having the star quality could've also rang true for HBK at one point in time. I thought Shawn was going to call Triple H out for it, but then Randy Orton intruded with cliched 'you know you can't beat me' line. What else is new? It was kind of cool to see Big Show driving that rig through the backstage area. No doubt that part was pre-taped, but it was still cool that Big Show was actually driving it.
WHAT I HATED:
Cena's Diary of Perseverance: ... or whatever the hell Micheal Cole called it. I give John Cena all the credit in the world for an absolute freak athlete and consistently coming back from injury earlier than expected. It shows that he wants to be in WWE and loves what he does. I LIKE that and I've never questioned his devotion to the company. I've just never seen someone so eager to be rejected. Seriously, this guy must be a glutton for punishment. These diaries and video packages WWE is creating for his return - they're not endearing him to the fans. Anyone who LIKES Cena, still LIKES him. Anyone who HATES him, still HATES him. These videos just show that he's still going to be the same old 'good guy' that he was when he left. That's not progress. Seeing the old (read: heel) John Cena in that video package only made me not want to see him come back as the placating, poop-joking, patronizing poor excuse of a wrestler that he is now.
Divas Tag Match: Great, even Cena's girlfriend Nikki Bella has come back from injury. It's weird how many parallels exist between Nikki Bella and John Cena. They both have great bodies. They both are attractive. They both can't wrestle. Okay maybe not that many. I just wanted to point out that they both can't wrestle. Because they can't. I have to admit that the last bout of non-stop offense from Brie Bella was pretty good. Maybe she's been taking lessons from boyfriend. Not many comparisons between those two, though. But hey, they say opposites attract.
Tons of Funk vs Real Americans: The cheap shots WWE takes towards the current administration and the blatant racism is a bit annoying. It's supposed to be all in good fun and a parody of the Tea Party, but sometimes it seems a bit much. Zeb Colter intimated that Los Matadores are illegal immigrants who stole El Torito and are lying about their names. He then read off a list of names generally associated with the hispanic heritage that they could actually be named. I LIKE the group, I LOVE Antonio Cesaro and I even LIKE Zeb Colter, but they should tone it down a bit. Some people could take that humor the wrong way. If nothing else, I do LOVE that the Real Americans are winning their matches in the tag team division. Too bad it's against the non-contending tag teams. But that should change soon. If WWE is going to continue to book the Tag Team Championship as strong as they have lately, they'd be dumb to overlook a team as ripe with talent as The Real Americans.
QUOTES OF THE NIGHT:
I can't write Paul Heyman's promo verbatim. It was too much to keep up with, but it was fucking awesome. That's the Paul Heyman I know and have always LOVED. I also can't write verbatim R-Truth's promo/sales-pitch that he pulled off seemingly in one breathe. It was shameless promotional shilling, but it was pretty awesome too. Good job, Truth.
MATCH OF THE NIGHT:
I'm actually going to score this a tie between Daniel Bryan vs Dean Ambrose and Randy Orton vs Dolph Ziggler. Both were matches involving the participants of the WWE Championship match at Hell in a Cell. Both were highlighting the best that each contender had to offer. And both matches were damn good, though completely different.
BEST IN SHOW:
Hard to pick a 'best in show' because everyone involved in any ongoing storyline played their role to near-perfection tonight. I'm going to give the nod to Daniel Bryan because he's simply the best all the time. Can't go wrong with him.
REACTION:
I don't know if it was because I watched the April 8th RAW earlier and it put me in a good mood, but I really enjoyed watching this episode. They had two very good matches on the card in the first hour alone. And had three decent tag team matches after that. That doesn't include the Divas Tag match, that even though I put in the HATED category, wasn't all too bad. And anytime I compliment a current diva not named AJ Lee or Natalya on her wrestling skills, I must be in a good mood.
WWE was right to stack the deck for Hell in a Cell. It was sorely needed. Not only did the last two PPVs suffer from lazy booking, but so did the episodes of RAW and Smackdown between them. This RAW has me salivating for Hell in a Cell because it seems to be booked really well. Hopefully Smackdown continues this enthusiasm and Hell in a Cell actually pays off.
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