Welcome back Mark Henry. You have been missed. Goodbye tag division. It was nice to have you back for a spell.
Paul Heyman again goes above and beyond. The Brock/Heyman relationship can go so many ways. I can see myself sitting through these shows to get to their segment. Extra points for Brock murdering Miz, then Heyman apologizing for Miz.
Brad Maddox cuts a really nice promo. I was sad to see him wiped out by The Shield. I hope someone finds a spot for him. He's dying to be somebody's Stevie Richards.
I hate when Cena has backup.
There's suddenly a lot of loose cannons on the deck. I like them all, but is there enough room for all of them? Or is it just enough to keep Cena busy for a couple of months.
They need a 4th hour - there's too much important stuff going on. What a good show. MARK HENRY. Punk vs. Jericho. Bruno Sammartino. Lesnar throwing chairs at Miz. Rey vs. Bryan. Heyman and Vickie, united front. Big Show, bad tipper. Top babyfaces banding together to make a stand. Brad Maddox talking like Bane! The only thing missing was Cena ending the show by issuing a challenge for Wargames Chamber.
Not sure about this Bo Dallas though. Uh.
Wait, where was Dolph? I figure he's wrestling Jericho but they wanted Punk's strong win to stand on its own to build him back up for Rock.
The silverback is silver back. AIN'T GONNA BE NO PEACE. Gosh Mark Henry was so determined to squish Rey Mysterio. I would also accept Ryback and Mark Henry at Wrestlemania in a short, explosive literal power struggle.
I like Jack Swagger's aggressive new attitude, King, but I don't know how easy it'll be for him to get traction when WWE has just reintroduced two monster heels to go along with forces of destruction like Ryback, Big Show, and Shield. It was like that X-Men cartoon when Rogue held up a ceiling, then Juggernaut knocked out Rogue with one punch, then that Shi'ar guy knocked out Juggernaut with one punch, and then Phoenix knocked out that guy with one punch.
SD Elimination Chamber looking strong. Orton vs. Rey vs. Bryan vs. Swagger and two others. Apparently not Kane? Maybe Mark Henry, who will probably be strongly slamming the Great Khali on Friday, but then he'd have to take a fall in one of his first matches. Or ... win?
Originally posted by BigDaddyLocoThere's suddenly a lot of loose cannons on the deck. I like them all, but is there enough room for all of them?
Considering they've never been able to clock out more than 8 matches at Wrestlemania, it's going to be one loaded YouTube battle royal.
I was sure Dolph was going to run in on that outstanding Punk/Jericho match, but nope. No Kaitlyn either. And Kofi's stock has fallen...
And both secondary champs get pinned on the same show?
Bo Dallas has a creepy perma-smile...love that Joker!
First Mark Henry, do we also get former World Champ Christian back on TV next?
There are/were rumors last week that Jericho was going to turn again (!) to face a face at Mania, but why?? He was (legit??) voted in by a landslide, he has a mandate from the people!
Originally posted by BigDaddyLocoBrad Maddox cuts a really nice promo. I was sad to see him wiped out by The Shield. I hope someone finds a spot for him. He's dying to be somebody's Stevie Richards.
I was making the Stevie Richards comparison in my head as well!
If Undertaker can't go at Wrestlemania then that was a pretty good audition for Punk vs. Jericho at Wrestlemania (after they lose to Rocky and Ziggles at Elimination Chamber) because I'm not sure who else there is for Punk.
The Bo Dallas upsets Wade Barrett story might mean more if Barrett ever won an important match. If Sheamus isn't going to be in the Elimination Chamber then why have him be the one to beat Kane? Why not let Orton beat Kane to get his spot and then let Barrett get a good win against Sheamus and make Bo's upset win look better?
Brad Maddox = 4MB? I mean those guys are kind of silly funny but they also kind of suck on the mic. Or maybe their band needs a manager.
(edited by Quezzy on 4.2.13 2059) Lance's Response:
I was also pure delighted and relieved to see Fandango again, though that delight and relief was kind of offset when it sounded like Johnny was pronouncing "Fandango" like Chris Kattan's Mango, which, oh no.
Originally posted by JustinShapiroSD Elimination Chamber looking strong. Orton vs. Rey vs. Bryan vs. Swagger and two others. Not Kane nor Sheamus. Maybe Mark Henry, who will probably be strongly slamming the Great Khali on Friday, but then he'd have to take a fall in one of his first matches. Or ... win?
Orton vs. Rey vs. Bryan vs. Swagger and two others.
Maybe it's just reading too much into Rey's on/off status, but I figured tonight's Mark Henry mauling meant Misterio was disappearing again (no matter what Booker T said.)
Not sure about this Bo Dallas though. Uh.
Bo Dallas has been in the mold of a guy who will be losing most of the time, but they give him the one big win at the start so they can keep bringing it up as a reason he might win again. (Like a far less exciting Evan Bourne?)
Maybe Mark Henry, who will probably be strongly slamming the Great Khali on Friday, but then he'd have to take a fall in one of his first matches. Or ... win?
There's going to have to be some odd multi-man somewhere. ADR, 'with the odds stacked against him', having to defend against both Big Show and Mark Henry, might work if they have another indecisive finish at Elimination Chamber. (And then ADR beats Show to end that feud and moves on to Henry for the next couple of shows. Poor Ricardo.)
former World Champ Christian back on TV next?
They've been hitting the former champions only thing so hard that this has to happen.
If Undertaker can't go at Wrestlemania then that was a pretty good audition for Punk vs. Jericho at Wrestlemania (after they lose to Rocky and Ziggles at Elimination Chamber) because I'm not sure who else there is for Punk.
If not Punk/Undertaker, then I'd guess it's Punk/Ryback, Ryback finally trying to get the win. (Though the WM crowd is possibly not right for that match.) They would've left some doubt in Jericho vs Punk if they planned to go back to it soon. I mean, I'd like to go back to it because it was really good, but like with Ziggler/Del Rio, they don't do the WM matches with clean finishes two months ahead of time if they don't need to.
(And if they are fixing the polls, they probably would've fixed it some other way if they had even thought about Jericho/Punk for WM. WWE sure lucked out that Rey didn't win the poll and happened to be in the right match for the Henry return, uh huh.)
Punk / Jericho was excellent. They pretty much got the full half hour before the overrun. "Ring Rust-oleum"? There is no "ring rust" on Chris. San Diego picked up on the dueling "Y2J" / "CM Punk" chants. And you've got to love Punk doing the "ask him!"
Jack Swagger needs to just pack it in at this point. It's bad enough that he comes back after six months with the exact same loser character that he was trotting out when he left, but he almost IMMEDIATELY gets outshined by the triumphant return of Mark Henry's Hall of Pain!
As much as I'd love to see Ryback and Mark Henry have an old-school power match at Wrestlemania, Mark's destined to obliterate the opposition in the Chamber and make a beeline for Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio's going to have plenty of time to get used to his role as "plucky underdog", first with Show and then with Henry.
Speaking of total obliteration, how delusional was Miz in trying to SHOVE BROCK LESNAR? The only way that segment could have gone better would have been if Brock ended it by burying Miz under the set of his own talk show.
Nitpicker Alert: Only in wrestling does the logic "Vince is in the hospital, so he can't fire anyone" prevail. As if he doesn't have a phone or as if his mouth is stapled shut or access to email.
The ending segment with The Shield was actually pretty epic. Cena, Ryback, and Sheamus beating them at their own game was pretty cool, as was the Shield Victim Club finally getting one up on their oppressors. It's a fantastic way to set up the six-man Chamber match...which HAS to be where they're going, right?
Nitpicker Alert #2: BRAD MADDOX...DOESN'T...HAVE...A CONTRACT!!! Why is he allowed to cut promos in the ring? Why is he even allowed in the building?
Punk/Jericho was fantastic and there are worse ideas than Punk/Jericho redux if UT really can't go this year. I kept waiting for the Dolph run-in, but it never came and the match was much better for it.
The secondary belts need to go. This running gag of the secondary champions always jobbing isn't funny anymore.
Dear God, Fandango LIVES! WHY???
Seeing Bruno in an extended HOF video package is just surreal. But hearing Cole say that Bruno's induction at MSG would be "ironic" made me want to reach into my TV and wring his scrawny neck. DOES HE EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT WORD MEANS???
There seemed to be a pile-up of some sort in the aisle, as Sheamus was doing his "through the crowd" entrance. Nice vault on Sheamus' part. Wonder if it was caused by anything interesting.
Cole was going on about Barrett's many-times-broken nose, due to his history of bare-knuckle fighting. He flubbed that -- I'm not sure whether he meant "bear fights" or "bare fights" -- pretty sure I'd pay for either.
Did I miss a previous showing of Fandango? I remember Johnny Curtis from NXT, but don't recall a "Fandango" character.
Yeah, Wade sure did a lot of bear fighting early in his career. At least, that's what I got from our commentary team.
If you're gonna rig a poll, at least make it BELIEVABLE. Something closer to 36-34-30 I could believe, but 57-30-13 with Mysterio dead last? That's a huge neon sign saying "this is why we don't do this on Twitter where you can verify it any more."
Sure takes Show a long time to eat a normal-sized meal!
Keep an eye on how long Ricardo's off TV - if it goes past this week, it may be time to start speculation on whether or not he may come back as a heel.
Sheamus really got an adrenaline surge from whatever Security had to do to ... whatever was blocking his path there.
Hey, there's Zack Ryder and Brodus Cl---oh, never mind, we never looked up at the stage again.
Probably a coincidence but the week Vince isn't in the building, Punk sure said "belt" a lot - also, did we get through an entire three hour show without a fit of "reinforcement snickering" from our commentary team? Yeah, probably just a coincidence. Camera zoom ENGAGE!
I couldn't take my attention away from the staff on Raw. It was Argus Staffing which I've done temporary work for last year. Maybe If I worked for them again this year Shaemus could of vaulted over me last night and i could a free WWE event!
We got a lot of monsters in the company right now. Lesnar, Henry, Ryback, Show, Big E (well....) in the compnay at the same time just begs for a Powerman battle royale at some point in the near future.
Booker T is the Managing Acting General Manager of Smackdown? I loved Punk asking if he was drunk shortly after that.
Miz is awful. Keep throwing chairs at him Brock!
Heyman consoling a despondent Vickie Guerrero over the carnage she wrought on this company by resigning Brock reminds me of the great principles this country was founded on. Those two must work together more often. I want the Heyman-Guerrero Era to start right meow!
Crowd: "This is awesome!" Punk: "Oh at first it was overrated! Sit down, marks!"
Coming soon to an episode of Botchamania near you.
Also... I would be entertained if they just showed Mark Henry berating the crowd and fallen wrestlers after he's squashed them with power moves. "THIS IS WHAT I DO!" x 10. "I'M AN ORIGINAL!" "I NEVER LEFT!" His badassery has been sorely missed.
Originally posted by CruelAngel777Miz is awful. Keep throwing chairs at him Brock!
I disagree. I thought that was Mr. Mizanin's best ever showing as a babyface. Brock Lesnar came right at him and he stood his ground. He didn't even take off his coat; he was prepared to fight in his suit like he's James Bond or something. Mr. Mizanin took his beating like a man. Brock THROWING COUCHES around was unreal, though.
I would like a gif of some sort of Heyman's SUPER VILLAIN faces.
THIS IS WHAT I DO!!
By the way, if you're not following Dr. Shelby, you probably need an appointment with Dr. Shelby, because he is great.
I'm sorry I could not be @wwe#Raw to support #TeamHellNo tonight. My son, Richard, had a badminton game. He lost. He's not good. #honesty
Originally posted by CRZIf you're gonna rig a poll, at least make it BELIEVABLE. Something closer to 36-34-30 I could believe, but 57-30-13 with Mysterio dead last? That's a huge neon sign saying "this is why we don't do this on Twitter where you can verify it any more."
Actually, Dave says that the poll was legit, and the show had been scripted under the assumption that Orton would win. And Vince actually was in the building (on crutches).
(edited by hansen9j on 5.2.13 0736) "Northern Illinois posted its best defensive effort in seven seasons allowing just 42 points on Saturday afternoon, but it came in a losing effort as the Huskies fell to Eastern Michigan, 42-25, at the EMU Convocation Center. "
Go Pack Go! Owner of one (1) share. Let's Go Riders! Owner of one (1) share.
Originally posted by CruelAngel777Miz is awful. Keep throwing chairs at him Brock!
I disagree. I thought that was Mr. Mizanin's best ever showing as a babyface. Brock Lesnar came right at him and he stood his ground. He didn't even take off his coat; he was prepared to fight in his suit like he's James Bond or something. Mr. Mizanin took his beating like a man. Brock THROWING COUCHES around was unreal, though.
I would like a gif of some sort of Heyman's SUPER VILLAIN faces.
THIS IS WHAT I DO!!
By the way, if you're not following Dr. Shelby, you probably need an appointment with Dr. Shelby, because he is great.
I'm sorry I could not be @wwe#Raw to support #TeamHellNo tonight. My son, Richard, had a badminton game. He lost. He's not good. #honesty
I was fine with Swagger's ringwork, but we missed his conversation with Booker, leaving Cole to again try to repackage someone's comments to sell the story. Vickie is a cougar without a cub; Swagger needs heat help and a manager. Might as well put them back together. Also? PATRIOT ACT.
Been a while since we had a RAW without AJ.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
Brad Maddox is the most fascinating, weird act in the company.
Bruno finally going in, and doing it at MSG, is fantastic. I wouldn't be surprised if part of having Punk's long title reign was to start getting Bruno's name out there again. At the very least, having Punk and Heyman specifically bring up his reign a few weeks ago had to be a nod to the good work HHH was doing to mend fences. The combo of doing it in New York and having a guy he could confront over his legacy must have been a nice one-two combo to sell him on doing it now or never.
Originally posted by thecubsfan
Orton vs. Rey vs. Bryan vs. Swagger and two others.
Maybe it's just reading too much into Rey's on/off status, but I figured tonight's Mark Henry mauling meant Misterio was disappearing again (no matter what Booker T said.)
But he bought all those shirts!
Originally posted by El NastioAnd Henry is toats going to destroy at EC.
I want him to destroy the Elimination Chamber himself. Like, make a big deal about him not even wanting to go into a chamber pod and needing like 20 guys to back him into one, and when he's not the first guy out of the pods, he just breaks his way out from the inside and says things "One in the Chamber, you better have five more where that came from!"
Man, I love Mark Henry. There should be an alternate audio track for Raw where it's just him mic'ed up and we hear him talking to himself as he walks around the building.
Originally posted by CRZ Keep an eye on how long Ricardo's off TV - if it goes past this week, it may be time to start speculation on whether or not he may come back as a heel.
If they do keep him off TV for a bit, it'd be time to bring in El Local to start the slow reveal that it's Ricardo.
But if they did want to do a heel Ricardo/face Del Rio angle, I'd have The Shield start attacking people adjacent to a seemingly confused Del Rio with the eventual reveal being that Ricardo has started funneling some of Del Rio's money to The Shield to protect him because he doesn't believe Del Rio can do so anymore, leading to Del Rio vs. The Shield once Del Rio finds out and clears his name. Basically, the "Heyman had The Shield working for him without Punk's knowledge" angle people have been floating.
Originally posted by CRZProbably a coincidence but the week Vince isn't in the building, Punk sure said "belt" a lot
Glad I'm not th eonly one who thought of/noticed that. I mean, it is probably a coincidence because he has to sell the idea that Rock only has physical possession of the title he believes to be his, but he sure leaned into "belt" and "title" and it's Punk, the only guy I could see who would be bothered to work that kind of thing in.
Originally posted by hansen9j
Originally posted by CRZIf you're gonna rig a poll, at least make it BELIEVABLE. Something closer to 36-34-30 I could believe, but 57-30-13 with Mysterio dead last? That's a huge neon sign saying "this is why we don't do this on Twitter where you can verify it any more."
Actually, Dave says that the poll was legit, and the show had been scripted under the assumption that Orton would win. And Vince actually was in the building (on crutches).
(edited by hansen9j on 5.2.13 0736)
Will Rey ever win a Rawactive poll?
Originally posted by It's FalseNitpicker Alert: Only in wrestling does the logic "Vince is in the hospital, so he can't fire anyone" prevail. As if he doesn't have a phone or as if his mouth is stapled shut or access to email.
Originally posted by Matt TrackerAlso? PATRIOT ACT.
These are two of my beloved Wrestling Logic concepts. The idea that you can repeatedly stave off unfavorable results simply by physically stopping the person from doing it onscreen, and the idea that guys pull aside broadcasters to let them know that they've named a move. Or in Swagger's case, renamed it. It's like, Swagger had a massive personal crisis of faith, vanished from the company for two months or so and made some curious statement about "living the life of a real American", but the message that's really important for him to get through to everyone is "hey, I renamed my finisher, by the way, so if you wouldn't mind changing up that call..."
Originally posted by CRZProbably a coincidence but the week Vince isn't in the building, Punk sure said "belt" a lot
Glad I'm not th eonly one who thought of/noticed that. I mean, it is probably a coincidence because he has to sell the idea that Rock only has physical possession of the title he believes to be his, but he sure leaned into "belt" and "title" and it's Punk, the only guy I could see who would be bothered to work that kind of thing in.
Seemed to me that Punk was trying very hard *not* to say belt, but gave up after a while. Wasn't he referring to the belt as the "physical manifestation of the WWE Championship", or something like that. That just ends sounding weird after a while.
Thread ahead: TNA signs Jeff Hardy to 2-year extension Next thread: On This Day: WCW Saturday Night - February 3, 1996 Previous thread: Next 2013 HOFer is....