WWE Raw Review 19/3/12 - The Rock vs John Cena Continues

WWE RAW REVIEW €“ 19/03/2012 The Big News: Triple H tried to intimidate Undertaker but it was the Deadman who dealt the true psychological blow to his upcoming opponent by reminding Hunter that he still believed that he was inferior to Shawn Michaels. Meanwhile Rock and Cena both showed their strength in taking down Mark Henry and Chris Jericho continued to air dirty laundry regarding Punk's loved ones. In a Nutshell: More solid progression for the matches that matter at this year's Wrestlemania. CM Punk came out to start the show. Footage was replayed from Jericho's "CM Drunk" promo the previous week before Punk informed everyone that Jericho wasn't in the arena tonight which proved just what kind of man he is. He said that Jericho pissed him off not because the fact his father was an alcoholic was some big secret but because he exposed information in front of the world that wasn't his to share and made light of a serious subject just to try and get under his skin. Punk claimed that was set to backfire though because if there is a monster inside of him then Jericho would now have to deal with it. Punk said that the finish to the story regarding his father was that he overcame his addiction and that he was proud of him and proud of being straight edge and that he would happily go through Jericho to prove that he was the best in the world. At that point Chris Jericho appeared via satellite and began an elaborate apology about how he was out of line talking about Punk's father and how he would never mention him again. He then quickly switched back to asshole mode however as he informed Punk that his sister was a different story. Punk acted appalled as Jericho informed everyone that Punk's sister was a drug addict and how that was a pattern that Punk himself would be unable to avoid. He said that substance abuse could be overcome but that Punk would never be able to overcome Jericho beating him for the title at wrestlemania. Punk responded with a string of curse words that were muted out whilst Jericho looked on angrily from the screen. This was a good angle and the crowd seemed to dig the melodrama even though it seems to lack the edge of their initial best in the world verbal showdowns. It is good to see Punk getting the cheers and Jericho the heat though that should help the match play out to the crowd as both men want it to. 1.) Kane defeated Big Show via pinfall Prior to the match a funny video package aired detailing Big Show's humiliating ordeals at wrestlemania. It was ordered to be shown by Cody Rhodes who came down to ringside wearing some boxing gloves in order to rile up his wrestlemania opponent as he prepared to face the big red monster. Thankfully the uninspiring match-up was only used as an angle though to further the Rhodes/Show conflict as Cody caused the distraction on the apron that enabled Kane to throw Show off the rope via an impressive chokeslam to earn himself the pinfall. 1/2 * Post-match Cody Rhodes then capitalised on his fallen rival by hitting him with the beautiful disaster kick and tieing him up on the ropes and repeatedly punching him in he head with the gloves in a neat piece of psychology that would have been far more effective had Rhodes actually managed to appear remotely vicious in dealing out the punishment. Big Show thought to his credit sold the blows like a trooper, stumbling to his feet and looking dazed as he was helped outside the ring by officials. 2.) David Otunga defeated Santino via pinfall The two men engaged in a hilarious pose-off to start which was certainly more entertaining than anything they could hope to offer in terms of wrestling. Otunga hit Santino from behind to start but Santino worked his way back into the match with some arm drags and unveiled the cobra. Laurinaitis then chucked his mobile phone inside the ring in one of the oddest interference tactics ever attempted but nonetheless it worked on the United States champion who proceeded to stamp on the phone before being finished off by Otunga with a spinebuster. 1/2 * Post-match Laurinaitis mocked Santino's celebration and got in Long's face but the Smackdown GM wiped away his grin with a slap before running up the ramp and performing his own uniquely awful dance celebration. If you can close your eyes to the fact that this light relief, comedy segment involved the US champion then it was pretty fun stuff. They aired a vignette for the character Lord Tensai (to be played by former wwe talent A-Train). The video basically aired loads of tatoos and was a pretty intriguing clip. Big fan of the name also. Footage was aired from earlier in the day with The Rock stood next to the statue of Rocky Balboa. Rock showed a photograph of him stood outside the structure as an inspired twelve year old and then talked about how he was further inspired by his early wrestlemania heroes such as Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior who he humorously impersonated. He then mentioned how his first wrestlemania main event had been against Stone Cold Steve Austin in Philadelphia which he ended up losing. He said that he eventually overcame the Rattlesnake however and went on to beat Hogan but that if he was to become the greatest them of all then he had to beat John Cena in twelve days time. Rock then said that he would send a message later on to John Cena inside the arena. This was a superb promo from The Rock with an excellent mixture of intensity and comedy that also managed to put over Cena without having to pander to him in the process. 3.) Daniel Bryan defeated Zack Ryder via pinfall Prior to their match they aired a Zack Ryder rally from outside the arena. Ryder was fantastic with the cheering fans which acted as a reminder of the special bond that helped him to propel himself into the limelight in the first place. Inside the ring, Bryan worked over Ryder with various holds and stomps before Ryder halted his opponents momentum by booting his face into the corner and hitting him with the Broski kick. Zack then went for the Rough Ryder but Bryan caught his arms mid-air and took him to the ground with the labell lock in a swift counter that resulted in an almost immediate submission. * ½ This was good fun whilst it lasted and a very good finish to promote Bryan as a dangerous force in spite of his small physique. It couldn't help but feel horribly rushed however. 4.) John Cena defeated Mark Henry via pinfall Henry completely manhandled Cena for the majority of the match before missing an avalanche into the corner that enabled his opponent to hit a supplex and the five knuckle shuffle. Cena then attempted the Attitude Adjustment but his back wasn't up to the task, a moment of weakness which spurred on Henry to try and capitalise with a world's strongest slam. Cena escaped however and managed to launch the Attitude Adjustment second time of asking. ** This was a well worked bout which put over the strength of Mark Henry whilst still giving Cena the courageous victory to show that he is there both mentally and physically to go toe to toe with the Great One. Post-match The Rock then made an appearance to Rock bottom Mark Henry with the greatest of ease sending a message to Cena that he is more than ready for the challenge. Rock was electrifying in his offence and Cena sold it really well as he came to realise that it will well and truly be The Rock, the wrestler, he will be squaring off against when they share the ring at wrestlemania. They set up this year's Divas match at Wrestlemania by airing footage of Beth Pheonix and Eve Torres invading Maria Menounos show during her interview with Kelly Kelly down at the Grove in Los Angeles. It was then confirmed that Beth and Eve would challenge Maria and Kelly at Wrestlemania. I can't believe we are getting this instead of a Divas championship match. The Miz came out do a promo about being underutilized again. He talked about how King Kong Bundy had gone from main eventing a wrestlemania to being in a joke match the following year. Miz lamented however that at least Bundy had managed to make the card unlike his own plight this year. He then vowed to prove that he belonged on Team Laurinatis. 5.) Sheamus defeated Miz via pinfall Yet another short match but one filled with good action nonetheless. Miz tried to capitalise with a DDT early on but Sheamus countered into an impeccable fireman carry slam for a near fall. Miz then managed to execute his back/neck breaker combo but Sheamus kicked out at one and hit back with kicks and a powerslam before missing his first brogue kick attempt and then hitting his finisher succesfully moments later. ** Josh Matthews interviewed Randy Orton up on the stage and asked the viper how he was going to contain the monster that was Kane. Orton said that the better question though was how the monster was going to be able to contain him. He put over Kane as a revitalised evil force but said that he didn't care about his current identity crisis or his powers because he is Randy Orton. This was a much better type of promo from Orton given the limited time in which he had to deliver it. Vickie Guerrero came out to announce Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger as the last two members of Team Laurinatis. We were then informed that they were up in action next against R-Truth and Kofi Kingston. 6.) Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger defeated Kofi Kingston and R-Truth via pinfall Ziggler and Swagger grounded Kofi to start and when Dolph wasn't inside the ring, he kept himself busy doing some tremendous heel taunting on the outside. Truth then got the hot tag and hit out at his two opponents with a flurry of clotheslines before missing an axe kick that enabled Ziggler to hit the fameasser for the win after Vickie had thrown Truth's foot off the ropes. * 1/2 Shawn Michaels came out gloating about how he always stole the show at wrestlemania and how this year it would be no different in his role as guest referee. He said that it was cool to have the fate of the streak in the palm of his hands but that if people wanted his prediction on the outcome of the match then they were going to have to wait until Wrestlemania. He said however that he would give his opinion on what he thought was going to happen. (Isn't that basically a prediction?). He said that the first thing anybody wants to know is whether or not he can remain impartial in the match given his seventeen year old friendship with Hunter but before he answered that he turned his attention to Undertaker and said that the end of the era tagline was just code for the end of the streak. He said that he had been where Taker had been and stood in his shoes and had seen the end that he knew was inevitable and sensed that Undertaker was now in the same place. "There you stand" he continued before being interrupted by the Deadman himself. Shawn attempted to continue rambling on in his vainglorious power trip but Undertaker cut him off informing his old rival that he had done enough talking the previous week and that right now it would be in his best interest to shut up and listen. He reiterated to Michaels that the match must remain pure and that before Michaels and Hunter thought about forming any secret plans... Before Taker could continue however, he was cut off by Motorhead and the appearance of the Game. Triple H told Taker that as much as Shawn Michaels ego wanted this to be about him he confirmed that it wasn't, that it was about them and the destiny that has brought them to where they are now. He put over his involvement with the hell in a cell match talking about how it was the environment where he had ended careers and learned to thrive within the company. He then said that all that epic preparation was building towards one moment and that was ending the streak at wrestlemania. Trips said that he knew what it was going to take to end the streak but Undertaker asked him if he was sure. If he was willing to sacrifice his body, his soul, his career, his wife, his kids and even his life for the sake of the match. Triple H replied that if that sacrifice meant ending the streak then he was ready and he would get the job done. Undertaker then got ready to leave before turning around and reminding Triple H once again that he thought Shawn Michaels was better than him, a cool psychological move that both served to aggravate Hunter and flatter Michaels ego in one fell swoop. This was a great ending to the penultimate Raw on the Road to Wrestlemania with all three men excellent in their roles once more. Shawn Michaels was a joy to watch acting all cocky whilst both Hunter and Taker brought great intensity to their verbal blows. This segment once again raised questions about Michaels involvement in the bout whilst also promoting the importance of the streak for all three men as well as the historical significance of the hell in a cell concerning the two competitors. The back and forth manipulation and intimidation week after week has been fascinating to watch and the textbook example of how to craft a rich, intriguing storyline without having to elaborately paint the competitors as either a heel or a face. Verdict: Once again this was a great week for advancing the three main storylines which came at the cost of haphazardly rushing everything else. In particular Sheamus and Bryan gained little from this week and one hopes that next week they'll atleast try and some meaningful conflict to what should be being treated the fourth important clash on the big night.