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GOALS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR RAW 4/23/12

RAW - 23/04/2012
What this Raw go home show for Extreme Rules needs to accomplish?
•Extreme Rules hype. PPV Card rundown? I can only hope. More matches need to be announced and focused promotion is key
•Lesnar-Cena contract signing. Lesnar isn’t Rock; let’s not have him talk too much. WWE has done right by Brock so far and hopefully the trend continues tonight. As for Cena, just don’t smirk too much. Emphasis should be on Brock wanting to kick ass and Cena saying he’ll put up a fight as it was last week
•Punk and Jericho. Promo work has been good, but not blow away and the feud itself has been somewhat satisfactory. The video package on Smackdown last week really made this program feel important and hopefully Punk and Jericho are able to have sparks fly tonight without losing the crowd
•Three Hours doesn’t mean more comedy. Resist taking advantage of your wonderful creative team and their terrible backstage scripted comedy sketches
Show Breakdown

1. I don’t like Teddy in the role of hosting the contract signing right off the bat

2. Pleasant surprise seeing Edge. I wonder if this was done because the news came out about his contract last week...and right away he mentions it

3. This promo by Edge is too early in the John Cena so called losing streak. I don’t like it even though Edge is doing a great job with the promo. I feel like it’s skipping two chapters

4. At least Cena has avoided smiling

5. I also like how Edge pointed out why he wanted to do this in a public form. Paying attention to detail! My other issue with the Edge promo is does it foreshadow a Cena win? It’s pretty clear from watching the show that the Extreme Rules stipulation will actually help Cena as oppose to Brock. Sometimes WWE thinks old formulas work not realizing how long they’ve been around and how long their audience has been watching them pull out the same trick for years. They had Sheamus beat Bryan in seconds thinking it would make Sheamus look dominant and instead half the audience sees it as the promotion screwing them and Bryan and therefore backfiring and hindering the Sheamus character

6. WWE doesn’t have Chris Jericho wrestle on Raw for weeks and now he wrestles on the go home show before we can pay to see him in action on pay per view. Makes sense to me!

7. Quality match between Jericho and Kofi. I like the story they are telling

8. Sweet code breaker that the audience really seemed to dig. Jericho always gives alot to his lesser opponents, maybe sometimes too much.

9. Good promo from Chris Jericho. It seems the first two segments of the show were dedicated to promoting things for later in the night. I don’t have an issue with that since the first hour really doesn’t knock the rating out of the park.

10. I like the idea of flashbacking to past big time Lesnar moments to educate the younger or audience that doesn’t know him as just to who he is. Plus it adds more hype to Brock the ass kicker and promotion to the match!

11. I have feeling WWE has no idea where they are taking the Eve character. She seems to be coming on to Laurinaitis, but when he goes for a hug she backs off for the hand shake? It’s inconsistent with the character and therefore can only lead me to assume that they have no idea what to do with her right now.

12. Love that they are showing the Brock video package from last week again. Just a tremendous package.

13. Good Punk promo focused on Extreme Rules. I feel like Josh should have asked Punk why he didn’t run out and attack Jericho since Jericho has been an evil villain, but is always on the big screen yet this week he was in the ring in a lengthy match and Punk choose not to strike.

14. I like that they showed the replay of Tensai beating Cena...meanwhile here is Truth who has been totally dismantled by WWE Creative and is probably on the endangered species list during cut season this year.

15. I hope Lord Tensai works a quicker pace in this match.

16. This was a better showing for Tensai in my view. He showed more physical emotion. I’m not sure if the audience is buying what he’s selling with the claw though.

17. Oh Joy WWE wants us to hear from Kane next. You know that creative team loves writing Kane promos!

18. Nobody cares about the Kane monologues. WWE just doesn’t get their audience sometimes. This was a perfect example of WWE wanting to make movies and have writers and having their writers come up with terrible verbiage.

19. Alright I did pop for the Paul Bearer appearance and Kane’s response also fits with his character. He’s a monster; his father is the devil, why would he save Paul Bearer? Makes sense to me. How many times has Paul Bearer died on WWE television now?

20. Nice little angle to hype Orton and Kane for Extreme Rules with a brief brawl with Randy and Kane and Kane running off. I assume that Kane might get some final payback on Smackdown before the match. I like the first hour of this show so far. Very focused on Extreme Rules

21. Cody Rhodes vs Big Show in an Extreme Rules match to be determined? I assume that will be figured out during rewrites on Smackdown tomorrow.

22. Khali selling his knee injury from Smackdown? Attention to detail!

23. Gotta say I’m a bit underwhelmed by Del Rio since his return, perhaps it’s because he’s not in a focused storyline or that they tried to pair him with an underwhelming Sheamus character.

24. The Woooo’s come out in force for the figure four leg lock from Cody! I wonder if Show and Cody will be a submission match.

25. Does Show the babyface beating Cody help sell their match for Extreme Rules? My explanation? This is what happens when you have people writing the show who don’t understand the business along with an overworked man at the top who desperately needs a vacation.

26. I said during my Wrestlemania thoughts that I hoped WWE kept doing these pre shows for pay per views and it looks like that trend will continue for Extreme Rules and a pre show on YouTube. Of course it really shows Miz’s place in WWE right now that he has been resorted to the pre show and being on the same level with Santino.

27. Jericho saw it with his own two eyes and as did the rest of us. I hate when they do this type of stuff like Laurinaitis didn’t see it.

28. Seeing Eve standing beside Johnny just isn’t the same as David Otunga and the coffee cup. I can’t believe I just typed that...

29. I was holding my breath when Josh went to interview Brock, but luckily all Brock did was beat him up. Works for me!

30. This Beth-Nikki match is shockingly getting some time on Raw. Naturally the crowd doesn’t care and I’m shocked the crowd isn’t chanting boring

31. Notice how the only divas that matter AJ and Eve are no part of the lumberjills.

32. Seems like Beth had a freak accident there and Vince McMahon has another reason to be encouraged not to push the divas.

33. Interesting that Nikki Bella gets the divas title as the Bella Twins contract expires. I can’t say I’m surprised.

34. I think we are looking at a nice old school angle between Punk and Jericho. I’m not sure anyone would buy Punk being drunk, but will see.

35. Punk is doing a good acting job though. I’m sure he’s seen enough of drunks in his days.

36. I think Punk mixed up S and T when doing the alphabet backwards, but I’ve always wondered who the hell can recite the alphabet backwards so I’ll assume that’s pretty tough.

37. Nice angle with Punk and Jericho, although a bit long.

38. Great flashback footage to Brock beating Hogan. Notice that two of the flashbacks they’ve showed so far is Lesnar beating TNA guys. I wonder if Kurt’s next.

39. Strong angle with Bryan and Sheamus. It’s all pay per view hype so it works for me. My only issue is that Sheamus didn’t sell the Yes lock long enough.

40. Brodus and the Midget vs Dolph and Jack...if this doesn’t tell you what WWE thinks of Dolph and Jack, I don’t know what does.

41. Why is Sheamus calling Bryan a coward when he beat him from behind at Wrestlemania? Solid promo otherwise with no foolish comedy

42. Michael Cole asking why fans gravitate to Zack Ryder? I wonder if those are Vince McMahon’s words.

43. Primo and Epico beaten again as the senior citizen laughs it up in the back.

44. The way Ryder has been treated lately; I was half expecting Santino to hit Ryder with the cobra after the match.

45. AW wants to recruit Primo and Epico. I expect these types of segments to go on forever as just like with Eve, I’m not sure creative knows where to go with this character. Meanwhile Rose seems fine with AW trying to invade on her turf.

46. Goofy angle with Kane. This is the type of stuff WWE needs to stop doing. This last hour of Raw has been subpar. Three hours was once again just too much for WWE Creative who decided to get too cute yet again.

47. Speaking of too cute, I’m questioning if the Hornswoggle addition to the Brodus Clay act was getting too cute. I just can’t stand the Woggle and I question whether anyone in the audience actually likes this stale character.

48. Cole “This match will be over rather quickly I believe”...change up the formula. We know what that means.

49. Well at least Dolph and Jack didn’t get pinned by Brodus and The Midget, but of course Woggle had to bite Vickie’s ass to Vince and Kevin Dunn’s amusement backstage.

50. Back to business showcasing The Lesnar win over Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania 19. It felt like WWE went with goofiness forever there.

51. I like that they took the time to preview Smackdown this week with a rematch of Sheamus vs Mark Henry and Michael Cole interviewing Randy Orton. I can’t get a card run down for Extreme Rules of course, but they’ve done a solid job of hyping that show on Raw, although all the goofiness really puts a stink on things. Let’s hope the contract signing can put a fresh coat of paint on this show.

52. The Brock video package again and I don’t blame them for showing it twice on tonight’s show!

53. Brock talking too much here. I’m not sure why Brock is talking about his contract demands instead of focusing on the match. I guess it’s to make him more of a heel character playing of reality, but I think this should be more focused on Brock the ass kicker and Cena the fighter.

54. Brock’s reaction to Cena’s music and Cena coming out is pure gold.

55. Cena shows a chain, Brock shows fists! I like it!

56. Okay contract signing. They are really positioning Cena as underdog.

What this show accomplished?
The Good
•Strong and focused hype for Extreme Rules. I thought the show did a pretty solid job of promoting the pay per view outside of a few segments
•YouTube pre shows continue. I like this idea and it’s something WWE should never have done away with. I’d prefer if it was on television, but you take what you can get in this scenario
•Brock flashback segments. Tremendous stuff. Funny that all the guys used in the clips were TNA guys, but it made sense
•Edge promo. Fantastic promo by Edge even if it didn’t really fit with the story just yet
•Tensai slightly improves. I thought he was a bit more active against Truth
•Divas get time. I’m not sure if the match was good and the injury to Beth sucked, but at least they were given more than ten seconds to tell a story
•Smackdown programs given hype. Orton-Kane had a brief brawl and Bryan put Sheamus in the Yes lock followed by a serious Sheamus promo, which promotes their match and hypes the pay per view!
•This week’s Smackdown given promotion with a match and interview segment announced in advance
•Eve joins Laurinaitis and Otunga. I like this, but I question whether WWE knows where they want to take the Eve character. She’s okay in the role, but I’m betting there are a few girls on the roster who would be better suited
The Bad
•Comedy fails. WWE just had too much time for this show and their creative team took advantage of it. Hornswoggle biting Vicky’s ass. Kane saves Paul Bearer only to send him back in for this 100th death on WWE television
•WWE showing a lack of foresight again. Why are Primo and Epico jobbing out to any tag team combination? Why is Miz on the free show before the pay per view challenging for the US title yet hasn’t been on Raw in two weeks? Why is Cody Rhodes jobbing out to Big Show yet challenging him at Extreme Rules. This company had three hours to fill and once again showed us why they turn off half their audience
•Sheamus sells the Yes lock for about five seconds. Bryan put Sheamus in the Yes LOCK long enough that Sheamus should have tapped or passed out, but he did neither. I’m sure Sheamus was told by whoever produced that not to sell too long, but it once again shows that WWE has learned nothing from the way they’ve booked John Cena throughout the years. A no selling babyface doesn’t get you crowd support
•Edge promo on John Cena. This was skipping like five chapters and I was unsure why it was happening. This should be a promo Edge cuts after Cena loses to Brock. Doing it before the match almost foreshadows a Cena win in my mind
•Contract singing. I thought the contract signing was good in the final minutes to help build anticipation for Brock-Cena, but prior to that it was average. Brock shouldn’t be talking for that long and why were they focusing on his contract demands at that point in time? They took the focus off Brock the ass kicker vs Cena the never say die attitude and put it on Brock doing WWE heel tactics. Why? Because of WWE’s obsession that John Cena be cheered seems like the only answer to me
•Santino Marella. It’s time for him to drop the title and go back into his role. It just hinders other people when he beats them. Zack Ryder didn’t even look good in victory. Did you notice Cole kept saying “Santino wins”
•Inconsistent storytelling is back on WWE television. Sheamus is calling Bryan a coward yet he jumped him at Wrestlemania? Primo and Epico are being disrespected yet continue to get squashed. Edge tells John Cena he must win and find the John Cena of old before the storyline has even had a chance to marinate. The Bubble on fire with their lack of respect for their Universe yet again
Overall Thoughts
•The show was focused on Extreme Rules so it’s a thumbs up in my eyes, but there were tons of blunders on this show. I’m not sure what my thoughts are on the Jericho-Punk field test segment. It was fine, but I’m not sure I would have had Punk get his hands on Jericho just yet. WWE went pretty heavy with babyfaces getting the better of heels on this show when they have a pay per view coming up in six days
What needs to be accomplished on next week’s Raw?
•The fallout of the pay per view. Push it as important, and begin the road to the next show!
•Lose the comedy and have some foresight before putting certain talents in matches that are no win situations such as Dolph Ziggler vs The Midget
Feedback: revinsamuel@rogers.com