Post Raw Thoughts: The Bookers Got it Right
by Geno Mrosko on Aug 16, 2010 11:42 PM EDT
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Just a few things to say for now regarding tonights episode of Raw. Much anticipated as far as seeing what the WWE would do with Nexus considering the way they booked Summerslam last night. Well, they managed to get it right. In we go.
- Coming into Raw I was worried about them wanting to disband the Nexus and give guys individual pushes. Turns out my fears were unfounded. They did go a sort of singles route for the night but not in the way I was worried about.
- Starting the show with the Nexus explaining why it was a good thing they lost last night was a good touch. They set it up to where they could all have a singles match and one tag team match and weed out any weak links. This was brilliant to get guys over on their own without messing too much with the dynamic of the group. Great call.
- What wasn't a great call was letting Cena have total control of the pace and tempo of the mic work and letting him completely bury the Nexus with his mouth. I guess it wasn't enough for him to do it in the ring last night. If Vince ever loses his man crush on Cena I'll be a happy man. Until then we'll get more of this.
- They booked a few too many bad finishes to the matches the Nexus were involved in but most were necessary for the advancement of storylines outside of the main one involving the group. Otunga and Sheffield went over big and Barrett did as well. Edge should also be commended for the way he put over Slater. Made him look good.
- I found myself upset that I wasn't going to get to see Bret Hart wrestle again tonight. Weird, I know. After how he looked last night it made me heavily nostalgic for the Hitman of old. They did well enough to get him out of there though.
- I like the idea of the Nexus getting rid of a weak link in the chain; in this case Darren Young. He managed to have a not so terrible match with Cena but he needs to learn pacing better.
- The ending was pretty cool. Having the Nexus come out and surround Cena before letting him leave and turning on Young was a nice touch to the conclusion of the show. After he got tossed around they faded out with the remaining 6 standing strong. They don't look as good as they did going into Summerslam but they managed to get them back to some semblance of a dominant force again.
A good follow up show to Summerslam. It's rare that the WWE continually makes good booking decisions but they were on the ball tonight. I'm not sure I would do much different save for not letting Cena have his big comedy routine at the beginning of the show. Looking forward to next week.
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The oppurtunity to wrestle singles matches gave WWE a chance to see each of members of Nexus’ talents individually and not have to focus on all seven members but only one or two. Barrett surprised me in his ability, though he most likely had one of the best workers in the world right now with him. I still have high hopes for Gabriel, though he was pretty much squashed.
"Dawson was NOT a hype job. Dude schooled Adamek, beat Tarver twice (neither competitive), beat Johnson twice (once close, once a wipeout) and even beat Harding when Harding was still good. That is not hype. Those are results. [b]I love how people see a guy lose once and all of a sudden nothing they ever did means anything. You are dead wrong.[/b]"
- Dan Rafael
Glad they FINALLY put them in their own matches. The match at SummerSlam was a start but they hardly had any time to show off their skills, save Sheffield, Barrett and even Slater. It’ll be interesting to see where they go with Young though. I want to say he’ll probably fade out but I have a funny feeling he won’t…
Columbus til I die, Columbus til I die. I know I am, I swear I am, Columbus til I die!
"Turner, at midcourt...inside it, at the buzzer, GOT IT!!!!"
We're the Big Ten, who the F@*# are YOU??!?!?!
by Andrew Tolliver on Aug 17, 2010 10:32 AM EDT reply actions
Agreed.
Young improved a lot but I think he dropped three too many legdrops in a row at one point. They were good looking legdrops and all but c’mon now.
He’s a step above Maven but that’s not saying much. I think he should play up the Black John Cena thing. I think a delusional Darren Young who acts like a Cena wannabe would be awesome for RAW.
I hope he sticks around as well. I think he’s better in the ring than Otunga at this point. Hopefully, he’ll improve and the WWE will give him a good program with a veteran who can help him along.
by FighterHayabusa on Aug 17, 2010 3:13 PM EDT up reply actions
and Otunga’s lines when Young said he would challenge Cena? Awful, I say!
“When John Cena beat you to within an inch of your life?!!?!?”
Mouthpiss. Plus a big LOL to all the shoulder slaps they did to him. Its like they’re all trying to get attention from someone.
Columbus til I die, Columbus til I die. I know I am, I swear I am, Columbus til I die!
"Turner, at midcourt...inside it, at the buzzer, GOT IT!!!!"
We're the Big Ten, who the F@*# are YOU??!?!?!
by Andrew Tolliver on Aug 17, 2010 3:39 PM EDT up reply actions
LOL. So true.
I thought I was in the middle of my gym for a second when they started shoulder slapping him.
by FighterHayabusa on Aug 17, 2010 4:20 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, that was a good follow-up to Summerslam. It didn’t quite elinimate the damage that the misbooked ending to the elimination match caused but it mitigated much of it.
Props
- The Miz. Great work on the run in against Danialson and great work on the fuming promo afterwards.
- Danialson. To be honest I’d never seen much of him prior to NXT but he’s the kind of worker I tend to like so I’m glad I’ll get to see him perform. Not sure he can overcome Vince’s size fetish but I hope so.
- Uniting the tag titles into one championship. It’s been the defacto case for a while now and there aren’t enough quality legit tagteams to warrent two titles and no need to make a crew lug around extra props. They should do the same with the Diva titles.
- Nexus: it’s nice seeing them actually wrestle. They still need development as actual in-ring workers so having them get to work matches was really needed. The bit at the end where they give Cena the pass to beat down the weak link was good.
Slops
- Okey… so now Randy Ortan has layed out the Champion into unconciousness twice on consecutive days and Money in the Bank Miz is nowhere in sight? Why? I get that Miz is involved in another program that precludes him from getting the belt right now but I’d still like even a half-assed explanation explaining why he isn’t trying to cash in.
- E-GM: Time to end this gimmick and give a face to the man/woman in charge. I’m putting even money on it eventially being either Cole or HHH. Speaking of Cole I like his heel commentator routine (He doesn’t eat meat!… heh).
- Guest Hosts: C-list celebrities begone. With a “real” GM what purpose do they serve? Not that having them have actual “power” was better since it implied that just anyone could do the job but it’s just a waste of time.
All in all it wasn’t a waste of time. They really need to advance the Nexus agenda thou. It’s time to reveal the “higher purpose” because right now it looks like the WWE vets and Nexus guys are fighting over nothing in particular. And they need to advance it right now because with two now ex-members it’s beyond reasoning that the higher purpose won’t be known anyways.
by Parallex on Aug 17, 2010 12:00 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I hear ya.
Next week’s show was taped and I can tell you we will likely be posting some spoilers to what goes down next week.
Forget it Donny, you're out of your element.
CagesideSeats.com
Interesting points.
I also liked having the show start off with the Nexus. They’re still the main focal point on RAW and it also leaves a potential spot open for an NXT season 2 wrestler to come on board when the NXT season ends. My co-writer is rooting for Husky but I’m thinking Mike McGillicutty if and when that happens.
I hated Cena’s Rock routine. I’d love to see him do that against fellow main eventers but not towards a budding faction that the WWE is still trying to get over. I think the “Wendy” chant is going to stick like Owen’s old “NUGGET” chant. Hopefully, Slater will improve enough to overcome it and become a solid heel on his own, if and when the Nexus gets Spirt Squad’ed.
It would have been a nice detail to have Cena walk out with a bandage on his head to sell the DDT on the concrete but I guess his character has Wolverine healing powers and his skull is laced with adamantium. Oh wait, he also has to see his head gear merchandise as well. Drat.
I’m going to avoid spoilers for next week’s RAW. Let’s hope the WWE keeps the Nexus strong for the next few months. They’re the only thing that’s keeping me interested in tuning into RAW lately.
by FighterHayabusa on Aug 17, 2010 3:26 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Yes, I’m going to avoid the spoilers at all costs. To the Authors, and Writers here, please don’t put specifics in the titles of your posts, much appreciated.
and REC for the Nugget ref. Brilliant.
Columbus til I die, Columbus til I die. I know I am, I swear I am, Columbus til I die!
"Turner, at midcourt...inside it, at the buzzer, GOT IT!!!!"
We're the Big Ten, who the F@*# are YOU??!?!?!
by Andrew Tolliver on Aug 17, 2010 3:41 PM EDT up reply actions
I hear ya
I did post spoilers for next week’s show but I did it in an extended entry. Didn’t give anything away on the front page. Thanks for any and all feedback.
Forget it Donny, you're out of your element.
CagesideSeats.com
Noted and appreciated. For once I’m going to avoid spoilers, things have gotten a little interesting lately.
Columbus til I die, Columbus til I die. I know I am, I swear I am, Columbus til I die!
"Turner, at midcourt...inside it, at the buzzer, GOT IT!!!!"
We're the Big Ten, who the F@*# are YOU??!?!?!
by Andrew Tolliver on Aug 17, 2010 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions
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