Every time Raw emanates from England, I get this sneaking suspicion that Clark Kent is in the audience. He never is, but this Monday it might have helped if he was, as maybe he could have morphed into Superman in that stupid red phone booth that's part of the London set and saved the dull parts of the show!
London shows are always a little bit off kilter and I'm convinced that the phone booth is to blame. What's it doing there anyway? Did Austin Powers design this set?
Or maybe it's something in the water. Certainly R-Truth could let us know as he's been sucking wind and downing water like Fat Albert running the Boston Marathon. In quite a unique story, R-Truth's conditioning and smoking habit led to his breaking point this past Monday. If you read my last article though, you already knew that (sorry Alberto for stealing your catchphrase!).
This took up roughly 1/4 of the Raw broadcast and was sold as being of the utmost important, but did this render either superstar HOT? And who on the rest of the show stood out either positively or negatively? Let's find out:
HOT
1. John Morrison - I guess the punishment is over. As you know, there was a lot of speculation that Morrison was being punished for giving Trish Stratus the cold shoulder at Wrestlemania due to persistance from his girlfriend, Melina. Based on Monday, I'd guess management has moved on. It will now be John Morrison in the main event of Extreme Rules instead of R-Truth as he beat him in a match for that spot. Yes, he then felt the wrath of the "new" R-Truth, but what's a little beatdown when you have a shot at the WWE title on Pay Per View? Some were speculating that he'd get a huge demotion due to his actions but much like Shawn Michaels before him, a little bad attitude didn't cost him (Shawn Michaels in the 90s, not after his return people!). With the draft looming, could Morrison take the title and move it to Smackdown? I doubt it, but he very well could be drafted there and stuck right into the title picture. They need main eventers over there and he's certainly a candidate for the job. If nothing else, we're getting Morrison in a cage match at Extreme Rules and that should be a lot of fun for WWE's resident Spiderman.
2. R-Truth - You might think that losing the #1 contendership spot he earned last week would land Truth on the NOT list for being stupid enough to put it up for grabs. Normally you'd be right, but here he is on the HOT list. Why you ask? If you are over 12, can you remember a time that R-Truth did something memorable? That's why. This heel turn might just be the best thing to ever happen to the guy, provided he doesn't go the typical street stereotype route. He could find new life in this role and maybe even get the push he never could get as the somewhat credible, somewhat comedic babyface rapper guy. Other than dragging on a little too long, the heel turn was a great segment and looks to be the start of something great. I loved the work he did with the exception of the cigarette thing (which again you can see my full thoughts in my last article!) and I'm hopeful that this will make the guy interesting for once. Being interesting trumps a token title shot in my book so Truth again lands on the HOT list this week.
3. Randy Orton - Yes, this story isn't going anywhere and it's more of the same Nexus vs. Orton stuff. However, The Viper was part of the best match of the night and he won it. On top of that, he ended up getting the upper hand after the beatdown so obviously he had a pretty good night. It would be a shame if Punk left this feud without a victory to him name, but it's looking like that might happen. If nothing else, the matches between the two men have been very solid so at least we have that. I'm still hoping for a Punk victory at some point but even if he doesn't get it, this feud has done a lot for him. Boy would I love him to go to Smackdown to feud with Christian for the World Heavyweight title.........Oh yea, this is about Orton. Yep, the RKO is awesome. That's enough.
NOT
1. Michael Cole - Get some Tough Actin' Tinactin bro! Not only was this kissing his feet stuff done with NO reference to when King had a match for it with Bret Hart in 1995 (I can't believe no one on commentary brought it up!), but it was basically pointless. This reminded me of a TNA segment in that it certainly garnered heat for the heel and made the babyface sympathetic but it did nothing in terms of furthering the feud. We know that they hate each other and we know that Cole can get heat. He didn't need to be knighted to tell us that! What it really tells me is that the WWE is simply biding time until their Extreme rules match and if that's the case, THEY SHOULD HAVE BLOWN THIS OFF AT WRESTLEMANIA!!! Bring J.R. in earlier, have the match be for a spot on Raw commentary, have Lawler win and Cole shipped off to Smackdown. Then he could "feud" with Booker if you really want or at very least, you wouldn't have this Lawler stuff anymore. These novelty matches are fine for Wrestlemania as you have 4 hours to play with, but for a secondary PPV with only 3 hours, it's stupid. Give that time to the real wrestlers and let them do what they do best. I'm sorry, but this segment Monday just didn't do it for me and to top it off, Cole's athlete's foot looked like Jabba the Hut's mucus. Please WWE, NEVER show that again!
2. Dolph Ziggler/Mason Ryan - Both men performed just fine on the show with Ziggler in particular looking good in his match, but these men didn't make the list due to their performances. These men are on the list due to awful hair choices! Ziggler had a Mr. Perfect-like mane and was matching it with similar wrestling skills, so why fix what isn't broken? What was odd to me was that he faced Evan Bourne and with short, darker hair he actually looked like Bourne! I'm not sure why he'd want to look like a guy who is further down the card than him but apparently he's made that choice. I am not a fan. As for Ryan, I guess you could say Batista never had this haircut. That's true, and for good reason! This is Wade Barrett's haircut and it only looks good on him! Ryan needs to do something about that mane because it's not working for him. I think that's why Punk didn't let him do the punt to Orton actually. It's all about looking good and Ryan well......he did not.
3. Daniel Bryan - Remember when I said that losing the title might be bad for him. Yeah, he was more invisible than Sheamus in general because HE WASN'T THERE! I hope this guy goes to Smackdown to feud with Barrett for the IC title. The dude can wrestle and needs to be in the wrestling show. 'Nuff said!
Like I said, this was a weird show with a weird flow. There were a few pretty good matches and a huge heel turn, but something felt off to me. I hope that's not the case as Raw returns to the states next week. You can't afford to lose all the viewers you picked up from Wrestlemania season so get to it and give us a better flowing show!
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