BRM Reviews the 3/19/2012 Raw (very bad)

[Big Red Machine]

OPENING SEGMENT- Punk’s promo was awesome. I didn’t like Jericho’s, though.

KANE vs. THE BIG SHOW- DUD! Distraction or not, Big Show should not be losing in ONE MINUTE.

The aftermath was good.

SANTINO MARELLA vs. DAVID OTUNGA- DUD! The posedown in the beginning was fun, but this one also didn’t last more than a minute once the action started. I also really hated Santino stomping on Johnny Ace’s phone. There was no reason for it, and we are supposed to cheer just because Santino is a babyface? At this rate, I am hitting the point where Johnny Ace’s team is actually the babyfaces, as Teddy Long has just been a huge jerk this whole feud, and now Santino is, too.

LORD TENSAI PROMO- A-Train is back. YAY!

THE ROCK PROMO- AWESOME!

DANIEL BRYAN (w/AJ!) vs. ZACK RYDER- DUD! Once again, we get an extremely short match.
So Ryder is back in action just over a month after having a broken back and a broken neck? This doesn’t sound safe. Or realistic. Or both. Take your pick.

JOHN CENA vs. MARK HENRY- 4.5/10.
The length of the match is understandable, given Cena’s car accident earlier in the day, but it still brings the show down overall, especially when combined with the lack of time that all of the other matches are getting.

AFTERMATH- bad. What message does it send to Cena for the Rock to attack someone… whom Cena just beat?

MIZ PROMO- good

THE MIZ vs, SHEAMUS- 2.75/10.
Another extremely short match.

RANDY ORTON PROMO- decent

JACK SWAGGER & DOLPH ZIGGLER (w/Vickie Guerrero) vs. KOFI KINGSTON & R-TRUTH (w/Aksana)- 4.5/10
The heels get a win again, but Aksana shoves Vickie afterwards, taking away some of the heat (again). I did like Vickie getting right back up afterwards and getting in Aksana’s face, though.

USING FOOTAGE FROM A HOUSE SHOW TO BUILD TO MANIA- excellent. This makes house shows look important, upping attendance.

TAKER, TRIPLE H, & HBK SEGMENT- okay. The words were good, but I’m just not into this angle at all.

Overall, a very, very bad episode of Raw. The in-ring actions was unforgivably bad. I would be surprised if there was more than fifteen minutes of in-ring action TOTAL. The promos by The Rock and CM Punk were awesome enough that they save this episode from being a complete and total failure.

[yourcrapsweak]

Give them a little leeway with not having good or a lot of wrestling, because WrestleMania is around the corner, and the way to build it is with segments and promos.

[badnewzxl]

Give them a little leeway with not having good or a lot of wrestling, because WrestleMania is around the corner, and the way to build it is with segments and promos.

this, plus I think you're being too hard on the Long/Ace thing. I don't think this is following the heel/face dynamic; it's just going off the "I hate you" thing. Obviously, Teddy's gonna lose somehow.

[Rabid619]

I think you're being too hard on the Long/Ace thing. I don't think this is following the heel/face dynamic; it's just going off the "I hate you" thing. Obviously, Teddy's gonna lose somehow.

I agree with BRM about the whole stomping on the phone thing being wrong AND about Teddy hitting Ace yet again. If they had just done the latter and there hadn't been much physicality or at least even on both sides then there wouldn't be much of an issue. It's obvious Long will lose at this point because Ace has only been in his position for a cup of coffee compared to Long's tenure as SD GM. I personally want Long to lose because he's acting like such a jerk you wouldn't believe Ace is the heel in this scenario or at least thats how i see it.

[Big Red Machine]

I think you're being too hard on the Long/Ace thing. I don't think this is following the heel/face dynamic; it's just going off the "I hate you" thing. Obviously, Teddy's gonna lose somehow.

I don't think you can have one team full of heels (who normally don't associate with each other) working for a heel to help him gain power taking on a team full of babyfaces in order to help a babyface GM gain power and not have the face-heel dynamic.

And I am actually quite scared that Teddy Long's team will win. WWE obviously likes Teddy a lot. If they didn't, they wouldn't have kept in as GM for so long.

[Big Red Machine]

Give them a little leeway with not having good or a lot of wrestling, because WrestleMania is around the corner, and the way to build it is with segments and promos.

Yes, but there is no reason why you can't have that AND have decent wrestling. Instead of a one minute match with Cody distracting Big Show to cost him the match, why not have an eight or nine minute match with the same finish?

The way they did makes guys like Mark Henry look extremely weak going into Wrestlemania.

[yourcrapsweak]

Give them a little leeway with not having good or a lot of wrestling, because WrestleMania is around the corner, and the way to build it is with segments and promos.

Yes, but there is no reason why you can't have that AND have decent wrestling. Instead of a one minute match with Cody distracting Big Show to cost him the match, why not have an eight or nine minute match with the same finish?

The way they did makes guys like Mark Henry look extremely weak going into Wrestlemania.

Extremely weak for smart fans. Your logic on this makes sense, but I've always disliked it when you bring it up because WWE matches are usually not that long, compared to say an ROH match. It is normal to have a one to five minute match, even on PPV's now. WWE's audience doesn't make a connection with losing so quickly to being weak because everyone loses quickly, and none of them are weak (if they were they wouldn't be wrestlers).

[badnewzxl]

I think you're being too hard on the Long/Ace thing. I don't think this is following the heel/face dynamic; it's just going off the "I hate you" thing. Obviously, Teddy's gonna lose somehow.

I don't think you can have one team full of heels (who normally don't associate with each other) working for a heel to help him gain power taking on a team full of babyfaces in order to help a babyface GM gain power and not have the face-heel dynamic.

And I am actually quite scared that Teddy Long's team will win. WWE obviously likes Teddy a lot. If they didn't, they wouldn't have kept in as GM for so long.

You're missing the point. I mean, that they aren't trying to sell the heel/face dynamic to us (the fans). They don't want you to think Long is the face and Ace is the heel; they just want us to think that both guys hate each other and that their team members sympathize with either guy. They aren't trying to get Ace across as the bad guy bc we already know that. They aren't trying to establish Long as the good guy bc we already know that. They are simply building the feud between the two based on their dislike for one another; not their position as either a face or a heel.

[Big Red Machine]

I think you're being too hard on the Long/Ace thing. I don't think this is following the heel/face dynamic; it's just going off the "I hate you" thing. Obviously, Teddy's gonna lose somehow.

I don't think you can have one team full of heels (who normally don't associate with each other) working for a heel to help him gain power taking on a team full of babyfaces in order to help a babyface GM gain power and not have the face-heel dynamic.

And I am actually quite scared that Teddy Long's team will win. WWE obviously likes Teddy a lot. If they didn't, they wouldn't have kept in as GM for so long.

You're missing the point. I mean, that they aren't trying to sell the heel/face dynamic to us (the fans). They don't want you to think Long is the face and Ace is the heel; they just want us to think that both guys hate each other and that their team members sympathize with either guy. They aren't trying to get Ace across as the bad guy bc we already know that. They aren't trying to establish Long as the good guy bc we already know that. They are simply building the feud between the two based on their dislike for one another; not their position as either a face or a heel.

But that's not coming across, mostly because Teddy Long is always the aggressor. If they were going at each then maybe, but they're not. They get annoyed at each other, then Teddy just slaps/shoves Johnny Ace.

[cero2k]

didn't watch it, but you make it sound like a two hr long video wire for wwe

[Big Red Machine]

didn't watch it, but you make it sound like a two hr long video wire for wwe

That's actually a pretty accurate description.