7 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Raw (25 Mar - Results & Review)

1. A Beatdown For The Ages

If fans thought The Rock’s surprise appearance on Raw Monday night was going to be limited to a whisper in the opening segment, they were in for one hell of a treat at the conclusion of the show.

Rock returned during a backstage brawl between Cody Rhodes and the Bloodline, absolutely brutalizing the American Nightmare in a methodical and deliberate beating that started indoors and segued to a bloody pummeling in the cold rainy Chicago night.

Throughout the attack, Rock trash-talked Rhodes, calling out fans (“Look at your hero”) and Cody’s mother (“Mama Rhodes”). The peak came when Rocky bloodied up Cody and revealed his weight belt, emblazoned with “Mama Rhodes” on it. He then smeared blood on it as a preview to what he plans to do at WrestleMania next weekend.

This was everything that every other beatdown ascribes to be. It was violent without being comically so. It was brutal without being overly gruesome. There was no tossing Cody off a building or throwing him through glass. Yes, there was blood, but it was just enough to get the point across rather than the proverbial buckets.

This was all Rock, being a straight villain, picking his spot and mauling the company’s biggest babyface, while promising Cody’s mother that this scene awaits her at WrestleMania. Rock lived up to his “Final Boss” nickname, looking like an insurmountable heel, with no hint of cool, no catchphrases, no funny putdowns. Fans were meant to see this and hate Rock, not come away entertained by him.

Fantastic stuff. WrestleMania Saturday can’t get here fast enough.