Tha "Raw" Report

I said last week that I don’t like the fact that the “Raw” team is clashing because of the “Ego” thing. I also stated that the rumors of WWE being down on Jericho for “leaving” to go host “Downfall” may actually be true. I don’t know though if that’s the reason why Jericho is in this goofy storyline right now. This whole combustible Team “Raw” thing is tired and irritating.

I’m sure several people like it. If it were slightly tweaked I may love it too, but even I can't put my finger on why it isn't working. I just think though that with The Nexus being the absolute shit as far as strength, in an early N.W.O way, this could have added some drama, but it’s only adding slight confusion and irritation.

The only positive to the entire Team “Raw” tension involves Khali. Having the Nexus plant the seeds of trust to him, only to turn on him later is the only thing about the match build that’s making sense. It can’t last long, but it’ll last just long enough to not matter in the grand scheme of things. When one angle sold pay-per-views that angle was so full of emotion it was running out of the cracks.

The Nexus angle isn’t one that just screams “emotionally invest in me!” The best part of tonight’s angle was the R-Truth/Edge confrontation, up until WWE being TV-PG ruined it. It sort of squashed the heat when Truth said “your rear end.” It would have had more of an impact had he been allowed to say ass. The reaction died at that point. Immediately following that segment a commercial for the DVD release of “Kick Ass” was aired.

I really hate to harp on the TV-PG thing and I try not to, but every week it rears its ugly head and either kills, dulls or just plain ruins a segment. Maybe the use of profanity and blood isn’t a good idea, but this is wrestling. Men punch, kick, slam and hurt one another every single night. How does that even qualify for TV-PG to begin with? It’s a work yes, but at the same time we’re told, “Please don’t try this at home.” This can’t really all be because of Linda running for office. Can it?

Moving on. John Cena desperately needs to turn heel. SummerSlam is a prime opportunity for him to turn against the WWE team and join the Nexus, but honestly I don’t know if it’d even work. Joining Nexus is just about the only way he could turn heel. They turned Austin heel at WrestleMania X-Seven, but that was by aligning him with Vince. Austin/McMahon was one of, if not the biggest feud of the 1990’s.

Cena hasn’t had that. The closest thing that he has is Edge. An Edge/Cena union would probably be a colossal screw up waiting to happen. If Cena turned on Orton, it’d likely keep Cena face and turn Orton back heel. Orton’s been a face for a cup of coffee, Cena has since late ‘04. Cena’s a baby face, even if half the crowd and a quarter of the overall audience boo him.

Nice to finally see Melina back in the ring, and she got a damn good reaction. I have a sneaking suspicion that she and Alicia Fox could put on a series of great ladies matches if given the time and the opportunity. Alicia Fox cut a pretty solid promo as well. Now that there are women who can work I don’t see why they wont let them work. Not sure who’s doing the women’s division now. Finlay may still be there. If not, Scott D’Amore may be busy with Maximum Pro, but then again, maybe not.

I’m an Orton fan, that’s no secret. Sheamus isn’t nearly as bad as everyone makes him out to be. With that being said I find it odd that I’m in no way excited about their match at SummerSlam. SummerSlam is/was my second favorite pay-per-view of the year behind Mania. The Jeremy Piven inspired SummerFest was no slouch either. That last six main events, or semi-main events were good and had something to be excited about. This one though, just doesn't jump off the screen or page at you.

Since ‘04 the listed main events have been, Benoit-Orton, Hogan-Michaels, Edge-Cena, Cena-Orton, Undertaker-Edge (Hell in a cell), and Jeff Hardy-Punk in a TLC match. Orton/Sheamus and Kane/Mysterio just doesn’t do it. I think WWE is making a serious mistake in putting all their eggs in the Nexus basket for this one. It isn’t going to get them the buys they want.

I understand that maybe, the WWE is finally transitioning into “new” main events and main event guys. Orton has been on the list twice since 2004, actually three times in the elimination chamber in ‘03, though in ‘03 he was in there so Triple H could have the numbers game in his favor against Goldberg.

He’s nowhere close to a fresh face, but he’s still solid. Celebrity involvement, or a big angle other than Nexus at the forefront of the card would have been great. Some may consider Taker/Kane/Rey from “SmackDown” a big angle, but “SmackDown” gets a fraction of the “Raw” ratings and Mysterio is still over, but a large percentage of that is 13 and under.

Back to Sheamus, why the hell did Goldust job to him? Like Uso getting jobbed out to Orton last week. Feeding under card guys to the main event isn’t good. Parity booking is never good for anyone, especially the guys getting buried for no reason. Goldust still has potential, and actually looks like he’s close to the top of his game.

“Raw” isn’t a bad overall show, I won’t say that. If it was unwatchable I simply wouldn’t watch it, and there are times over the last little while I haven’t. I can blame not watching it on work, but I have a DVR so I can watch it at anytime, I just chose not to at one point. The Money in the Bank concept has always been good, so I spent money on that pay-per-view. I’ll likely spend the money on SummerSlam, but it’ll likely be with relatively low expectations.

If the expectations are low, it’s increasingly hard for it to be a letdown. I know that sounds bad, but it’s true. The WWE has the potential future main event guys on the roster right now. It just remains to be seen if they can run with them. If Morrison turns heel he is ready to be a World Champion. DiBiase can be a World Champion by WrestleMania. Bourne can easily be U.S. or IC Champion. It just remains to be seen if the company will actually move forward.

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