Monday, May 3, 2010

Instant Feedback: Solid RAW f/ Bob Darker

With The Draft shoving all the big name wrestlers to RAW to compete for precious television time and a guy with a reputation for being a pompous and unentertaining dick coming in to guest host, I feared the worst for the show tonight. However, that was far from the case. Was this the best RAW ever? No, not at all, but it was actually pretty good from top to bottom, save a few cringeworthy moments.

For at least one week, they did all the right things. Scant but effective time was paid to the main event programs and wrestlers. We didn't have an entire show built around the Cutting Edge segment, just one vignette of Edge walking through the back and then the main event promo seg, which was well done. Edge cut an effective promo thus ending any semblance of his babyface run and putting him back to where he's more comfortable and better served to me at least. It struck me odd but satisfying that the WWE would even acknowledge that they fucked up in trying to push Edge face through the proxy of Edge's promo to a seething Randy Orton, whose facial expressions and body language said all he needed to.

The WWE Championship storyline was also well-crafted and simultaneously, it gave huge rubs to both Daniel Bryan and Wade Barrett. Although the losing-streak storyline for Bryan has had a toll on his initial heat, he was able to gain it back during the match, as the fans, who were tepid to him during his introduction, were steadfastly behind him by the time he locked in that armbar-crossface combo on Batista. Barrett again proved why he's a lock to be a WWE staple for the next decade again, having a fine match with John Cena that wasn't just all Cena. Add that in with the actual weaving in of storylines from the past year with Chris Jericho and Miz teaming together. And that's not even mentioning how they've inserted Sheamus into the main storyline. They've put more nuance into one two-hour broadcast than they may have done in 2009 altogether.

Barrett and Bryan weren't the only new faces who got some airtime. Ted DiBiase, John Morrison and hell, even Zack Ryder all got some mic time and were featured with their own stories. I feared for the worst when all these midcarders were put on RAW in the shadows of the Cena-Batista (temporarily)-Sheamus-Triple H-Orton-Jericho-Edge tower garden, but at least tonight, they did a good job of recreating a shattered midcard and giving guys who'd otherwise be anonymous a name, a face, a voice and a purpose.

Finally, I have to give props to Wayne Brady, a guy I didn't really like coming in, and to the writers for actually not overexposing him. His interactions had purpose but they weren't forced nor were they overbearing. Brady even cut a decent promo and took that RKO like a Champ. I still don't like him, but he earned some respect.

Honestly, while there wasn't a single match outside the Bryan/Batista and Cena/Barrett foregone conclusions (albeit entertaining ones) that I really thought stood out, I thought this was a solid show that pointed out that hey, there are new guys who are worth the fans' cheers and/or boos. It was effective, and that's all I can ask for at this point as a fan.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!