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Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 03/19/12)
By: Derek X | Posted: 03/20/12


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I'm tired. It's becoming more and more of a hassle to write these blogs. Not because I don't want to, but because I'm having to rush home from work or modify my schedule in order to do 'em. Half the time I miss the shows altogether if one thing goes awry (like last week and every Friday night). And the other half, when I am able to watch the shows, I'm so tired from the hustle that I don't give my best. I'm pessimistic. I'm disinterested. I'm angry. I think it shows in my work.

Due to this, I have decided to discontinue the Knee-Jerk Reaction. I will continue the KJR's up until Wrestlemania XXVIII. After then, there will be no more weekly recaps. I will continue the X-Blog itself including PPV recaps, standalone blogs and any annual series that I normally do, however. I just no longer have the time to keep the blog updated with any regularity.


WHAT I LIKED:
Punk/Jericho Opening Segment: I seem to remember asking for some meat to be in this rivalry. Wow. I won't be asking that again. It just got personal. Albeit, I guess it got personal last week, but I wasn't around to see it. I wonder if the story of Punk's father and sister are true, though. Part of me hopes they aren't and WWE isn't dragging Punk's family through the mud for the sake of ratings. The other part of me hopes it is because there's nothing quite like breaking the fourth wall.

Show/Rhodes: I just love Cody Rhodes. Shadowboxing outside the ring. The video of Big Show's Wrestlemania follies. And then, just like that, he turns vicious and tosses some pretty decent punches at Big Show in the ring.

Otunga vs Santino: I can't help but grin when I hear how over Santino Marella is right now. It's astounding. Also astounding, is how these two are the 'captains' of teams that include former World Champions like Christian, Mark Henry and allegedly Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio. I don't know. It's not like this Wrestlemania match has any real implications to it anyway. After all, whomever does become the General Manager for both shows, is still just a figurehead. Vinnie Mac will always be the one really in charge. I will say though, this has been a fun match to develop.

Cena vs Henry: Does it annoy anyone else when Cena talks directly to the camera on his way to the ring? I know WWE wants it to come off like Cena has a 'connection' to his fans at home, but to me it's just arrogant. No one else does it. Maybe it's just me. Aside from that, I really didn't HATE this match like I thought I would. I mean considering the limited wrestling ability of the involved parties and the edict that all of Cena's matches before Wrestlemania should be "safe", I didn't think this would be such an intense contest. The crowd had a lot to do with it since they were mostly anti-Cena. WWE at least had the good sense to match him against someone pretty damned hated himself in Mark Henry. Good move having Rocky come in and hit the Rock Bottom on Mark Henry. Albeit, it would have meant much more if he had hit it on John Cena. Sigh.

HBK/HHH/Taker: I still don't quite understand what HBK's role is in this match. It's a Hell in a Cell match, so there are no rules. The only need for a referee is to count the final fall or signify the submission. So, I can only assume that HBK is going to interfere with the match somehow, otherwise he'll just be standing around watching for 30 minutes until it's time for him to shine. In that case, they might as well have just made him a part of the match itself. Everyone would love that. Yes, HBK is retired. But it's not like this would be the first time a retired wrestler came back for 'one more match'. I doubt it'd be the 2,587th time its happened. I would definitely be for a Triple Threat Hell in a Cell match. Not only would it make it seem like getting to the round number of 20 wins at Wrestlemania is all but impossible, but it would add more fuel to the fire given the storied history between Triple H and Shawn Micheals. Even then, I'd still know Undertaker is going to win, which he would - which he is, regardless. So, I guess in that respect, it really doesn't matter what HBK's role is going to play in the match itself. In the end, Undertaker wins. But I guess it doesn't hurt trying in vain to convince us otherwise.


WHAT I HATED:
The Rock's Promo: I've always loved Rocky's promos. He's one of the best and he'll never lose his charisma. This promo was no exception. It was fine. I'm just tired of this gab-fest between Rock & Cena. Feels like it's been going on for over a year. ;) But seriously, it felt like WWE didn't know whether the crowd in Philly would cheer for or against The Rock so they had him drop a few names (i.e. Hulk Hogan, Rocky Balboa, Steve Austin, Ultimate Warrior? Really?), name a television show, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, with the city's name in it (If you don't watch this show, you absolutely must. It's the funniest damn show on television.) and toss out a couple of local landmarks all in an effort to win over the Philadelphia fans. Not necessary. This is Philadelphia were talking about. I know WWE would just as soon forget this, but everyone knows Philly is E-C-Dub territory. They don't like John Cena. All Rocky had to do is say 'Cena sucks' and they'd instantly cheer for him.

Cena's Car Wreck: WWE never ceases to amaze me. Their top talent got into a car wreck earlier today, where he could have been seriously injured. Thankfully(?), he wasn't. But what does WWE do? They take in all the publicity of Cena's accident and make it into a story of their own. As if it's kayfabe or something. I guess in Vince's mind, there is no such thing as bad publicity. Unless, of course, there's murder involved...

Extra Divas: Do we really need to have a 'celebrity' diva to wrestle in every Wrestlemania from here on out? First Snooki, and now Maria Menounos. At least Maria Menounos is 1000 times hotter than Snooki ever was, but still. It ruins the reputation(?) of the Divas division when these non-wrestling celebrities come out of nowhere and beat them, especially on stages as large as Wrestlemania.

Miz vs Sheamus: What the hell did Miz do? I really want to know now. He must've done something pretty heinous to deserve the treatment he's been getting lately. I mean, he's still a marketable star. He was on Psych last week. Normally, WWE pimps the hell out of their talent who guest star on national television. I didn't watch RAW last week, so I don't know if WWE promoted Miz's appearance on Psych or not, but I didn't hear anything about it prior to that except on the internet news/gossip sites. I hope WWE has something in store for Miz at Wrestlemania. Not just something, but something good.

Ziggler/Swagger vs R-Truth/Kingston: How much better would it be if these two teams were facing each other at Wrestlemania for the Tag Team Titles, as opposed to being wasted in a match that I've already explained has no real consequences or incentives. I'm really upset for Dolph Ziggler, more than the other three, who has been a workhorse for the past year. He's wrestled twice in multiple PPVs over the past year. He raised his game up to the precipice of the main event - the same thing he did last year - only to be forgotten about at Wrestlemania and thrown into a feud that has more to do with Vickie Guerrero than his own ambitions - just like last year. He deserves to be in a featured match at Wrestlemania. A title match, perhaps.


QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "My name is Randy Orton." - Randy Orton
Look, I know Orton isn't the best promo guy in the business. And I know he has to make an appearance on each show because he's one of the top guys in the company. But for Pete's sake, he has to have something more to say than this.
- Derek X
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