- The first Raw of the "Triple H" era
The Good
- John Cena vs. Rey Mysterio
All the people who say John Cena can't wrestle, John Cena only has 5 moves etc. were once again proved wrong tonight, as they were at Money In The Bank. Obviously haters will continue to hate, and in a way it is good because it's one of the driving forces in the Punk/Cena angle - but this match was amazing for a TV match and was a much more exciting affair than the 1st title match of the evening. Mysterio locking in the STF will probably be the most memorable moment, but overall the match was well worked as you would expect from these two top stars.
- CM Punk Appears
This was an awesome moment and unexpected. I think if anyone was expecting a swerve at the end, it would have been Del Rio cashing in his Money In The Bank briefcase and I doubt many saw this coming, even with Punk interrupting the Triple H press conference earlier in the week. I didn't like the theme tune change, but having read that it was his original music in ROH it seemed like a cool idea. 'Cult of Personality' definitely fits the character of CM Punk. I think Punk has arrived at the point where he can truly consider himself on the top level of stars now, along with John Cena and Randy Orton - the only other 2 current members of the WWE roster I consider to be at that top level. And when are they going to put that white shirt on WWEshop.com? I need it!
- Triple H
I'm still undecided on whether it is a good move to have Triple H as the new on-air authority figure, but I'm tilted more towards it being a good thing right now. The fact he is going to be on Smackdown as well this week is good too, as I'm sick of seeing Smackdown get the B-show treatment. If you treat it like a B-Show, fans will think of it as a B-Show and stop watching. The comedy bits with R-Truth were particularly funny and Michael Cole was awesome as usual with his delivery.
- Michael Cole
While I'm a big fan of Michael Cole, I feel his time on commentary has run its course and it's time to move on. Hopefully they transition him into a full time comedy-wrestler act, because he could actually have some engaging lower-card feuds and put guys like Zack Ryder over with his promo skills. The main event was much better without Cole commentating on it and felt much more like a sport than an entertainment show, which is the difference between J.R. and Cole. I also thought Cole coming out to King of Kings was hysterical.
- Dolph Ziggler
I loved the Ziggler theme tune already, but this new remix with the guitar solo included is truly "perfection" for his character. I loved Ziggler's ad-libbing, but I didn't really get the "follow that" bit. Is that referring to Twitter? I love seeing the sleeper come back as his finisher too, the Zigzag thing seemed ineffective to me.
The Bad
- The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio
This match didn't really deliver and was definitely overshadowed by the later main event. The fact it was on first
- Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio
I understand why this needed to happen, since Del Rio lost to a mid-card guy last week and needed to regain his heat, but it isn't a match that should have been hyped throughout the show as if it was something special.
- John Morrison's Return
I can't stand the guy, he's so dull and pointless and has had enough chances to prove himself and never done so. The only good thing that could come out of this feud is if R-Truth gets more mic time (and Morrison hopefully gets none).
The Ugly
- Rey Mysterio's Champagne Celebration
This champagne celebration after Mysterio winning the WWE title was so lame and corny - it made Rey look like a clown who only hangs around with NXT jobbers. I didn't even know half the guys' names in the background since I haven't watched that show since the classic 3rd season.
- That guy from the beer adverts tattooing one of the Bella Twins
I got a laugh out of it, but still.. it brought back dark memories of the celebrity guest GM days of yesteryear.
Overall Rating and Summary
Until the CM Punk reveal at the end of the show this felt like a disappointing Raw, but in retrospect it was pretty good. I had negative feelings for most of the show because I didn't see the Punk reveal coming after the title match and felt like things had returned back to normal with them putting out a thoughtless, campy Raw - but more things made sense in the end and storylines developed further. Setting up Cena-Punk II at Summerslam is awesome and I like the idea of them both holding a different title belt. Raw is doing a great job at getting you to come back next week and see what happens at the moment and is rewarding hardcore fans who invest time in the product.
Mark: 7/10
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