So, if anyone told me that tonight, RAW would feature Brodus Clay debuting a silly gimmick, WWE recycle horror movie plots for the main event angle, Chris Jericho come out again and do what he did last week and Daniel Bryan only get two minutes to wrestle, well, I'd probably say there was a good chance the show would be pretty good. Wait, what? Yeah, a show like that sounded like it had a chance to be fun, and the way it played out tonight, it was extremely fun. Extremely. Seriously, what a rollicking two hours tonight.
For one, the main event angle works for me in a perverse way. The opening promo with Kane talking felt so stilted, but when he stalks like he's a horror movie villain, it's fluid television. It helps when the players assuming the role of the dumb victims, Zack Ryder and Eve, feel like they belong. As much as I rag on Eve, I have to say her reaction of terror after Kane's pyro hit was pitch-perfect. It was absurd that Ryder couldn't change a tire, but I think realism had to be thrown out the window here, since this was a total horror movie. I think a big reason why this story works for me is that John Cena is vulnerable. Hmm, they may be onto something...
Chris Jericho again was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. The man, without saying a word, is giving Shakespeare-level soliloquies out there. Last week was jubilation, this week, emotion. Next week, I'm so looking forward to what he's going to do without saying anything. Someone said he should do this for a year before leaving again. I don't agree with that, as there needs to be a second and third act, but this mime game is one hell of a first act. Jericho is the greatest ever, but then again, I'm biased.
Speaking of character development, look at Daniel Bryan, everyone. His heel turn has been so subtle, so nuanced over the last couple of weeks. He barely changed his character, as his good guy persona was always fun-loving, good-natured, exuberant. All he had to do was turn it up a little, and bam, he's become a fully-realized villain in a role where it's almost impossible for a guy his size to become effective. His promo work has been great too. It's some evidence that what works on the indies might be able to work on the big stage.
And hey, the wrestling was really good too. For the second week in a row, CM Punk turned in a great performance, this time with Jack Swagger. (and the "botch" finish I think was intentional) Dolph Ziggler, his opponent from last week, had himself a nice match with Cena until they did the same, tired old "look at the Titantron" distraction finish, although this one was somewhat worse since there WASN'T a definitive end to the match. It's a pretty big flaw, but at the same time, nothing is perfect (although I hate that this has become a habit). Be that as it may, the action in the match was still very good preceding. RAW doesn't have to be wall-to-wall with great wrestling, but if it has one or two matches a week that get time, then it's worth it. Then again, even though it was a short match, the Bryan/Kingston match was good if just that Bryan got that pretty spiffy LeBell Lock counter out of the crossbody attempt.
But the real star of the night for me was Brodus Clay. We all waited for him to debut as this monster with his vignettes, and bam, he debuts as the Funkasaurus? I was taken aback at first, I'll admit, but at the same time, wrestling is at its best when it's fun. Clay looked like he was having fun, the crowd was into it after a bit, and hell, it was amusing. Am I easily amused? Maybe, but I'm not sure that's a bad thing. WWE has Kane, Mark Henry and in a way, Big Show, as its serious monsters (again Show isn't as serious, but he's certainly able to get pissed). A goofy big guy is alright as long as its executed well. This week, it was executed well.
RAW was excellent tonight. Very fun, very lively (despite the crowd being deader than a bad handshake). I hope this is the tone for the rest of the year.
Banner by K. Sawyer Paul
