Compared to last week, RAW was a shining paragon of wrestling television at its finest, but then again, compared to last week, your average episode of Impact would look somewhat passable. I've been saying all along that RAW hasn't been consistently awful, but the one constant has been its almost sinusoidal in its quality for the last year. This week was a good week, but still with very, very baffling and downright infuriating elements.
For one... would it fucking kill them to elevate someone new into the WWE Championship picture? I deluded myself into believing that they were really going to put Mark Henry in that SummerSlam main event. I mean, Trips didn't win his match, and maybe, just maybe, they would have put Miz over Cena somehow. But that WWE midcard star making machine struck again, having Cena bury the everloving hell out of Miz for a second time in three matches and beating him for the third time in as many tries (the RAW match after the Bash was a good showcase for Miz, but in context of the rest of the feud, it did NOTHING for him since it was sandwiched between Ls).
Two, would it fucking kill Triple H to SELL the fucking knee? Oh yeah, he did after Cody Rhodes worked it over during the match, but he just got billy-clubbed backstage. No limp? No prolonged effects? Oh, I forgot, it was Triple H against Legacy, so it's okay. Well, I will give them one thing for that match. They actually made Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, Jr. look like real superstars instead of job absorbers, although I didn't understand why Trips would have been DQed if he hit DiBiase. Sometimes the WWE's explanation of rules makes no sense whatsoever. But anyway, it's a start.
Three... the main problem that I have with Beat the Clock is that the guy who isn't officially "entered" into the fray gets jobbed hard. In reality, Evan Bourne should be going to SummerSlam to take on Randy Orton. I mean, he got the quickest pinfall, right? Right? But no, he wasn't the guy beating the clock. I know it would fuck their booking, but at the same time, you could have done something in-ring related and not had the veneer of being unfair to Bourne and the other guys who were the "fodder".
That all being said, I didn't think RAW was awful tonight. I would say it was good, even with the glaring mistakes, because it was a show built around the action in the ring. When the focus is on the matches and not on bullshit comedy, it works. Even the backstage skits were funnier, maybe because Shaq has more comedic presence in his pinky fingernail than ZZ Top does in their entire bodies, but hey, it all worked. Even Cole hamming it up like the douchebag he is worked in context with Shaq leaving him hanging.
And aside from Kendrick getting squashed and the awful-for-TV but okay-for-the-live-crowd Chavo/Hornswoggle feud, the in-ring action was good. Carlito and Henry have differing styles, but the match wasn't horrible. Say what you want about Chris Masters, but he was booked smartly and he played his role well. Again, Legacy was made to look smart and credible against Triple H, even if the big nosed crap pusher could have done more to sell the knee. The women's match was good mainly because Beth Phoenix, Mickie James and Gail Kim were allowed to control the pace instead of the spot-o-matic other divas. Finally, the main event worked. Cryme Tyme is an underrated team, and I really like both guys as wrestlers. It helps that they're in there against perhaps the best wrestler in the world today and maybe the best big man of all-time.
Honestly, while I finished watching still wanting a little bit more quality from them, it was a huge step in the right direction. The thing is they can't just deviate from that plan and go back to pushing asinine and lame comedy for the next show. I have a bad feeling that's how next week will pan out. I mean, Jeremy Piven is a good comedic actor, but I don't get the warm and fuzzies like I did with Shaq or with Seth Green or when they teased Dusty Rhodes.
In one final note... anyone else catch Shaq kissing Jericho on the forehead and then Jericho going all cross-eyed in reaction? That was totally weird, but I think Jericho selling it made it work. Fuckin' A. That's why I've had a mancrush on the Lionheart for the last 12 years.
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