I'll admit before Raw I was excited dare I say giddy for Summerslam. I was waiting for the bull crap of the Raw 7 drama to be over with so we can finally get the 7 on 7 that was promised a few weeks ago. I've really enjoyed Sheamus and Orton's rivalry build up. Raw was suppose to build more mighty mo and some suspense to put the ppv over. I think it failed in some aspects. Before Raw, I have to get something off my chest. TNA brought back ECW Sunday night and I feel the WWE has already brought back another organization without you realizing it.
Yes I believe Smackdown feels a lot like WCW before the Bischoff days and pre-NWO days. Go back and watch some of the classic WCW Saturday night shows then watch Smackdown. Both are very similar in quality of wrestling, limited backstage segments, a few stories always highlighted by the same titles and the under card has better matches than the world title. The mid-carders aren't used correctly and overlooked for other guys. I didn't like Kane winning the world title but I turned over a new leaf. I'm for it because of the body of work Kane put in over the last decade. He hasn't had a decent push like this particular one since he arrived and fought his "brother" at Mania 14. However, do we need to see Taker come back and feud with Kane for the world title, no. By the time Taker comes back, drop the belt on someone else but who? I feel four guys are ready to contend for the world title with Rey. Christian, Kofi, Drew and Matt Hardy are all worthy of a world title push. Swagger is out because he fell short earlier this year with the title. Big Show is with SES and Punk and it's going well. The other four are ready. We all know Matt has no chance. Kofi and Rey would be a nice feud but no heel. I want to believe the WWE will stop punishing Christian for leaving for TNA years ago and give him a shot. His in ring work speaks for itself and his mic skills are tops on Smackdown. The thing with WCW was it took a long time for guys, such as, Eddie, Rey, Jericho and Beniot to get their shot at main eventing and some never did. Christian to me is a lot like, the guy I'm not suppose to mention but I did already so screw it, Beniot. It took the WWE another 3 years to give him a shot at Mania 20. Christian shouldn't have to wait and neither should the other four. All the former WCW guys I mentioned won a world title in WWE because WCW passed. Now TNA is the alternative without the history. Smackdown shouldn't feel like WCW but it does to me. Raw has new blood with Nexus. Smackdown needs new blood at the top of the food chain and it's time to give someone a shot. Taker and Kane won't need the title so try something different. Drew and Rey sounds like a great change and a solid feud for the world title. I bet their matches would be better than Kane and Taker. The WWE shouldn't wait forever like WCW did to push the right talent or that same talent will walk to TNA. WWE can't make the same mistakes as WCW did because that's when the WWE took off.
With Bret and Jericho opening Raw, I couldn't help but daydream how good a match between the two would have been in the mid to late 90's. I thought by the end of the night had Jericho and Edge not come back, the Dynasty would be put in their place. The beat down was unexpected and a nice surprise to me. I couldn't think of anyone to replace Jericho and Edge after that but we all knew they would be in the match anyway.
After watching Bourne and Miz, I want to see it again and this time for the United States championship. It's apparent the WWE is going to push Miz to WWE title status very soon. The U.S. title will look nice around Bourne's waste and then have him feud with Teddy. Teddy wasn't used again on Raw except for an entrance. I'll complain about Teddy not being used correctly like Larry bitching about Morrison. Teddy is talented and needs to be in a fun story with Bourne. Hell if Bourne had the U.S. title then you could have a belt for belt match. Also Maryse could get involved. The story has plenty of opportunities and will be left on the table. As far as Miz, he shouldn't be in the 7 on 7 as they teased backstage. He shouldn't be the leader of Nexus either. I would love to see Miz unsuccessfully defend his U.S title at Summerslam to Bourne than later in the evening after Orton captures the WWE title from Sheamus, Miz comes down to "cash in" and fails to pin the Viper. Raw next week would have Miz crying, moaning and complaining even more to get mega-heat on him from the fans. He would become a bigger heel then cheat his way into a triple threat match with Sheamus and Orton at the next pay per view. Why the hell am I not on Vince McMahon's payroll? I have no clue.
Melina was a welcome in this writers' eyes last week. This week, it was evident Fox couldn't keep up with her in the wrestling department. Fox looked slow and out of sorts during the match and landed awkwardly on Melina's finisher. This is why we need more actual female wrestlers on Raw and not hot chicks that don't have a clue, like the time waster of the night summer triple threat tag team cluster f*** we saw later on Raw. That's a joke. The problem is Raw has talent, Natalya, Tamina, Kim and Melina could all put on a quality match. Put Melina with Tamina and see if anyone gets interested. Start building a female character! Tamina is perfect to become a rough and dominate heel.
I have to be honest, wrestling isn't the same to me. I only like a few people in the WWE. Last night, with Sheamus and Orton's in ring promo, I was a little kid again. I love both these men. Nexus versus the Raw 7 will end Summerslam and it's a damn shame. Orton and Sheamus have been the feud I've liked the most. Then Michael Cole ruined the segment. I'd rather seen a peer six brawl then what we got. The head games are Orton's forte and it was nice to see the punt teased because it's been a while since we saw it. A brawl would have meant more and got the fans really excited to see the match.
This is where Raw started to fall short. NXT 2 getting a match on Raw is fine for a Raw well before a pay per view, not Raw before Summerslam. I've said it before McGillicuty and Kaval are the two I like. Sheamus snapping and beating the crap out of them was cool to end the segment. Morrison and Truth wrestling Regal and Ryder was boring. You knew the outcome before the bell rang. Then the women's bikini thing. Hey, I'm all for chicks in bikinis and thought the end with Tamina and Santino was funny. We are talking about the Raw before the second biggest event of the year for the WWE. Time filler shouldn't have been on the rundown.
Main event was predictable, expected and yet I liked it. Jericho and Edge doing the heroic return to end Raw was what the Raw 7 needed. Nexus and the 7 is the most important match at Summerslam. It's going to dictate where the Nexus story goes for the rest of the year. I hope it's a solid contest with limited in ring work by Bret. Kahli is out and Miz may take his place. I'd rather see Miz and Bourne as I explained earlier.
Lackluster Raw which was disappointing. I expected more and we should have gotten more. Summerslam is the second best ppv and the WWE treated Raw like it was promoting Judgement Day in the middle of May. No other matches were announced for Raw so far it's the 7 vs Nexus and the WWE title. We need more announced and hopefully Smackdown can provide a spark because Raw flamed out. Check out Showstoppers and Wasp's TNA blog later in the week. I will be back Thursday morning for the all important Summerslam pick blog. Can I duplicate the near perfection from last year's Summerslam? Find out Thursday morning.
J Call
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