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Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 06/06/11)

By Derek X



Sorry I missed Smackdown this past Friday night. I had a special event come up at work and that always equals overtime! I never turn down money. My mother didn't raise a fool... albeit she turned into one a bit later in life. But that's a story for a different episode. When I miss Smackdown on Friday night, it's hard to make up for it because I work all weekend. So, if you don't see a KJR up for Smackdown by Saturday morning, odds are there won't be one.


WHAT I LIKED:
Tough Enough: Cards on the table, I didn't watch more than the first five minutes of Tough Enough. Once I saw that they would be living in a house together while training, it became too much reality television for me. But from the few minutes I saw tonight of the two finalists in the ring, it seems to me that the right guy won. He seemed to be more into it than the pretty boy. I may be wrong, but that's my five-minute assessment. Let's see how long it takes WWE to forget about him like they did with the winners from NXT seasons 2, 3 & 4.

R-Truth: This new character started off pretty damn rough, but week by week he gets more and more entertaining. I love this character! He managed to stand in the ring with Vince McMahon and Steve Austin and steal the spotlight from them. The live audience wanted to hear him talk more than they did Vince! Unfortunately this segment went belly-up once Miz, Riley and Cena joined in, but R-Truth's time on the mic was definitely the high point.

Punk vs Mysterio: CM Punk going for victory #601 tonight. Punk is amazing, even when he's not on the mic. At the start of the match he told Mysterio "don't worry about [Mason Ryan], worry about [Punk's right foot]." That was hilarious. No one else aside from Chris Jericho would think to say that. I like that the announcers are speaking about the rivalry that Punk & Mysterio endured last year and not acting like this is a fresh rivalry just because it's on RAW. Sometimes history in a rivalry can be just as important as novelty. I don't think that's the case in this scenario, however. But only because their rivalry last year was so personal when it first began. There's no way WWE can emulate the emotions in that initial feud. At least, if nothing else, their matches never disappoint.

Kingston vs Ryder: I gotta LIKE this match because Zack Ryder is getting a chance to shine on RAW! Well, maybe not shine, but at least emit a sparkle or two. In my opinion, Zack Ryder is WWE's second most underused talent. Second only to William Regal, of course! Also, I wonder what was the point of showing Zack Ryder in all those shots with John Cena, if they were just gonna keep him as a heel? I think maybe someone didn't think his association with Cena all the way through. There are times when having superstars on commentary helps a match and times when they hinder it. This one was the latter. I could barely understand what anyone was saying because they were trying to talk so fast and talk over one another. Micheal Cole should know that you allow the guest commentator to do most of the talking - after all, he's there for a reason. Poor King barely got a word in edgewise, but that's probably a good thing since all he was gonna do was make another fat joke aimed at Vickie Guerrero.


WHAT I HATED:
Santino vs McGillicutty: What is this? Superstars? This match was slow and boooring. I hate that I have to write McGillicutty instead of Hennig. Hennig is wrestling royalty. You'd think WWE would want to profit off of such a well-known and respected name. You'd be wrong, but you'd think that. I can't believe there's a title in WWE with the name McGillicutty written on it. If this match is any indication, there won't be for very long.

Divas Tag: I'm not a fan of this storyline with The Bellas making fun of Kharma's weight. It's no better than the 'Piggie James' storyline that ran Mickie James out of WWE. And having Kelly Kelly come to Kharma's rescue makes no sense since it seemed to be Kelly who Kharma was stalking in the first place. Remember Kelly cowering in the corner, quivering in fear? (No, remember it... don't fantasize about it!) Now, all of a sudden, Kharma didn't bulldoze her way through the divas as a megaheel. She's a babyface with a baby on the way and she has to be avenged - because you don't mock a pregnant woman. That's not politically correct.

Alberto Del Rio: I can count the amount of times Del Rio ended up in the HATED category on one finger while he was on Smackdown. However on RAW, it's been happening far too often. I wonder if there's a correlation... of course there is! It's RAW and their stupid writers! Here you have an amazing in-ring talent like Del Rio and he hasn't wrestled a match in three weeks. Yes, he's decent on the mic, and I'm glad he's getting his face time, but I'd much rather see him in the ring - and against someone who can hold their own against him. (Read: Not Big Show or Kane)

Swagger vs Booker T: What a DUD. Nothing more than a throwaway match that could have been used to give Swagger a little push. Booker T had nothing to gain from a win, even a count-out win. But Swagger is just falling further down the RAW rabbit-hole with every loss/embarrassment he takes from Evan Bourne. I like Bourne, and I would love it if WWE gave him an actual push, but they won't. Therefore, I think it makes more sense to use this quasi-rivalry to push Jack Swagger instead. He's the former World Champion of the two and of the two he's the one most likely to return to that level.

Tag Team Match: I figured once Alex Riley turned babyface he'd be tagging with John Cena in no time. I was right. It's almost like the past couple months never even happened, huh? At least they did hint at the fact that A-Ry has been in a feud with John Cena just as long as The Miz had, but still, it's a bit unbelievable that these two would be tagging so soon. The ending to this match was all kinds of screwed up. Never mind the botched briefcase shot that was in FULL view of referee Austin, but then having Austin help Cena & Riley win... just more blatant babyface loving. I hate it. Austin even screwed up the three count - or rather Cena jumped off of Miz a count too early.

I was thinking at the conclusion of this match... shouldn't Austin stun Cena, given the feud between him & Rocky? I mean, Austin & Rocky are friends, after all. Maybe it'll happen next week when Austin is the General Manager... but I doubt it will.


QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "Conspiracy! C-O-N..." - R-Truth
That was pretty funny, even though it's a bit cliche' and a tad bit racist. But sometimes it isn't about the quote, it's about the delivery, and R-Truth has been spot-on!

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