WWE RAW Review: The Elimination Chamber Go-Home Show
Jack Swagger continues his mean streak by easily taking out Zack Ryder. This match had some brutal spots including that powerbomb to the corner Swagger hit on Ryder. The other big deal with this match was the introduction of Swaggers new manager, Zeb Coulter. If there is one person in the WWE that needs someone to speak for him, its Jack Swagger (followed closely by Brock Lesnar). I can visually believe that Swagger is a beast, but the minute he opens his mouth, that facade completely melts away.
Jack Swagger is no longer the All-American American but rather the Real American. Im not sure how I feel about that. I think if they really wanted to repackage Swagger, they should have gone with something different. Also, I dont know if his character works logically. Zeb Coulter did a post-match promo about how we arent real Americans or whatever. And that we are the Home of the brave and land of the free, not the Land of the free, and home to whoever crosses our borders. This seems to be walking a very fine line between being a gimmick and possibly bleeding into real life. The border comment especially. Does this mean Swagger is going to beat the crap out of Jinder Mahal now every week? I mean, it does logically set up a feud with Alberto Del Rio for the title, but they are going to have to tow a very fine line.
CODY RHODES VS THE MIZReally good match between these two. To be honest, I was just happy to see that Cody Rhodes wasnt fed to an Orton, Cena, or Sheamus for a third week in a row. I liked the chemistry that Cody and The Miz had in the ring. Also, on commentary was Antonio Cesaro so you knew he would somehow get involved. The match had the DQ ending we all knew it would when Cesaro got involved. Cesaro looked super-impressive in his post-match beatdown. I loved that they are letting him be a bit unorthodox with his moves. Cesaro swinging The Miz around into the barricade was cool to watch.
Overall, this was one of the best storyline advancers on the show. I like that the US title is being given some prestige and I like that the Miz is actively chasing after it. Also, the fact that Cesaro is willing to defend the title, as well as put it over as a big deal, shows that the WWE is at least attempting to try to put over the title. I look forward to many more matches between Cesaro and The Miz, and that is saying something considering most of the midcard isnt that great right now.
BRODUS CLAY AND TENSAI VS EPICO AND PRIMOIn attempt number #476 to turn Tensai into something, they now have him paired with Brodus Clay. Honestly, the two arent bad as a tag team. Granted, they were just taking on Epico and Primo (who have once again regained their place as the Two guys that hang out with Rosa Mendes) but they werent bad in the ring together. If the WWE really wanted to do something with them, they could possibly come close to the other big man teams of the past like The Natural Disasters andummmViscera and that one guyOk, the WWE could make them a big man team if they just give them legit wins and cut down on post-match dancing. A little is fine, but the disco ball may be over doing it. And before I forget, give the Funkadactyls a Divas contract now, because damn, they can actually do moves. Cameron probably just took a page out of the greatest match of all time, Melina VS Alicia Fox.
THE SHIELD PROMOThe SHIELD comes to the ring and deliver a promo to help set up their match against TEAM SHENABACK at Elimination Chamber. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose are pretty awesome on the mic, especially Ambrose. Roman Reigns, ehh, not so much. Overall, it was a lot of what had been said before. The cool part of this promo was the run in by Cena and company. The brawl spilled out into the crowd (like the past few have) with the Cena crew looking strong. I gotta say, if I had been to any of the recent RAWs, I would definitely feel like I had gotten my moneys worth by the amount of spilling out into the crowd action has taken place recently.