bill bodkin is raw …
With the Passover holiday sidelining our regular RAW columnist Michael “Hurricane” Dworkis and there being just 13 days until the biggest wrestling event of the year, the focus of this recap will be on each segment’s Wrestlemania impact.
CM Punk’s Opening Promo — He is The Cult of Personality
Dude’s the best in the world for a reason — he kills it on the microphone and he is a sight to be seen in the ring. His promos leading up to his match with The Undertaker have been beyond Thunderdome fantastic. And even though he’s been saddled with carrying around Undertaker’s urn around, he’s made it work. I mean this could’ve just been a silly, silly aspect to this feud, but Punk’s made it work. Undertaker doesn’t really need to do anything on the mic with Punk to build the rivalry. All he needs to do is show up and be the badass that he is. Undertaker putting a beating on Punk after magically ‘appearing’ but Punk escaping, urn in tow, was perfect to further the feud.
Chris Jericho — You Came Back for This?
Seriously, who did Jericho piss off? Was it because of the new ink he’s sporting? Did he not thank Vince McMahon in the liner notes of the new (and awesome) Fozzy record? Whatever he did, he’s stuck in a Wrestlemania match with Fandango. Yes, friggin’ Fandango — the Dancing with the Stars-inspired wrestler. Do I have a problem with the Fandango character? No, he’s the new generation version of Rick “The Model” Martel, but this guy hasn’t even had a match and he’s going to be on ‘Mania with Jericho? I could think of plenty of other wrestlers who deserve this spot. However, if anyone can carry Mr. Bojangles to a good match it’s Jericho.
Dolph Ziggler — Hopefully He Cashes The Briefcase In Before July
Ziggler vs. Jericho was a damn fine match and if they were booked to battle at ‘Mania, they’d tear the house down. Instead we get a solid match on RAW. But seriously, Ziggler has been booked like a mamaluke in 2013, losing to everyone. My dog beat him in a match last week. With an entourage of Big E. and AJ Lee, Ziggler should be holding a title and running rough shod over the WWE. Instead he’s a glorified jobber to the stars. He deserves better for sure. Now it’s been announced that Ziggler will team with Big E. Langston (in his in-ring debut) will take on Team Hell No. Woof. Big E. Langston STINKS and he’s going to need a lot of help from the others in this match. I also think this match is a bit of a throwaway and its participants, Langston aside, deserve better.
Mark Henry and Ryback can beat up a bunch of nobodys.
I think Mark Henry vs. Ryback is going to be a snore fest. I’m talking a double bearhug in the middle of the ring while the crowd rains down a chorus of boos-kinda boring. Anyway … I think The Usos were given a fair shake against Henry. Yes, they got killed, but they rocked Henry, got him off his feet. I dig these two a lot and it was nice to see them get in something. Ryback on the other hand, he beat up 3MB. These guys are a joke and are not exactly the most talented guys to begin with. This match did nothing for me.
Alberto Del Rio — He’s a convincing good guy.
I was wrong. When they turned ADR face, I thought it was such a bad idea, but the dude has charisma and most importantly, talent. He’s such a fluid wrestler and his kicks and submission work are awesome. His match with Antonio Cesaro wasn’t as good as their other matches in the past, which have all been pretty dope. Cesaro scored a count-out win when Jack Swagger came out, kicked the snot out of El Local … err … Ricard Rodriguez. What I loved about this situation was ADR didn’t win the match and then go help his manager/announcer/friend. No, he left the match and put the boots to Swagger. That’s how a good guy should be and ADR sells it like nobody’s business.
Team Hell No vs. The Primetime Players — Can We Stop Seeing This Match
No seriously how many times have we seen this match?
Triple-H vs. Brock 2 — It better be better than the last time
I’ve heard their last match was the drizzles. Hopefully the sequel will be infinitely better … it has to be. I liked The Game’s promo a lot here. He puts Brock over as a complete monster, but reinforces the fact that Hunter Hearst Helmsley is still The Game, The Cerebral Assassin. He really put over the importance of this match and I think, this has a lot of really solid build-up. I also like his new haircut, adds an element of toughness to him.
The Miz — He’s not a convincing good guy.
Seriously, The Miz is a terrific heel. He’s a complete douche. He’s arrogant, he’s cocky and he’s devious. Yes, he’s got a bit of Ric Flair to him in that respect. But as a ‘face’ he’s not convincing. And honestly it’s effected his in-ring work. He’s not fluid anymore, he’s sloppy, he sucks. Also, he’s just not believable as a fan favorite. He still seems like a jerk and now he’s just a jerk pretending to be nice. And his use of the figure four that he’s ‘inherited’ from Ric Flair is just ridiculous. He also looked really bad against Wade Barrett, a superior wrestler by far.
Believe in The Shield…For Reals
I love The Shield. They are complete bad asses who can wrestle circles around everyone. They are so vicious, so innovative, I can’t wait to see what the future holds for them. Sadly, the talented Justin Gabriel, the entertaining Zach Ryder and the dreadful Great Khali were the sacrificial lambs for them tonight. They didn’t have a shot and I was OK with that, they had to be destroyed. The most impressive part of the match was obviously the triple power bomb on Khali. The appearance and brawl with Sheamus, Randy Orton and The Big Show was really well done. Mark my words, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins will be the future of the WWE.
The Legends Panel — A Waste
I don’t like John Cena and The Rock is fine, but if you’re bringing in Mick Foley, Booker T, Dusty Rhodes and Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart, give them more than just 30 seconds of time. Sure, the ‘debate’ was solid, but it says something when legendary wrestlers are brought in just to bolster a program like this. Is it because most people don’t care? No, people care, but just not enough people care. So by attaching Rhodes, Hart and Foley (Booker was a last second sub for a sick Ric Flair), the WWE was hoping the diehard wrestling fans would tune in to watch this ‘debate.’ That’s kinda sad.
