WWE RAW Review: The Elimination Chamber Go-Home Show

KANE VS DOLPH ZIGGLER

Ziggler continues his streak of having great matches with pretty much anyone. He really personifies what his gimmick is. While several wrestlers try to get their gimmicks over, they just don€™t succeed the way Ziggler does. Some wrestlers will try to get over a gimmick the easy way. If you have an American gimmick, you bring out Ol€™ Glory, wave it around, and boom, end of gimmick work. Ziggler actually works at being a show off. Whether it be his incredible selling technique, the handstand choke holds, or the sit-up submissions, Ziggler is committed 100% to being a Show-Off.

Kane and Ziggler had a good back and forth match, with both guys getting in equal amount offense. I wish the show had more matches like this. Not a huge fan of the outcome, though. It seems like it€™s been forever since Ziggler got a win on RAW. Maybe the stable they have put him in with AJ and Big E Langston is only hindering his progress. Several people compare Ziggler to Shawn Michaels. I think the comparison is fair but eventually Shawn Michaels had to break out on his own. If he had had Diesel be his bodyguard the entire time, he would have only been held back by him. Eventually, Ziggler is going to have to go it alone to achieve his true potential.

THE ROCK PROMO

What can be said about the Rock€™s return that hasn€™t already been said? The Rock is the WWE Champion, who I guess is only going to defend the belt at PPVs, show up occasionally, say some catch phrases, and sling the belt around while standing on the turnbuckles. He hasn€™t really done anything to enhance his character since coming back. The Rock isn€™t a wrestler anymore, he€™s an actor who is guest-hosting RAW while getting to be WWE Champion. His crackhead car story was amusing, but was nothing more than a way to fellate the Nashville audience. I just kept waiting for The Rock to get to a point. And apparently, so did CM Punk.

CM Punk came out to confront the Rock, only to be compared to Twilight characters by the Rock. I love a good burn, but damn Rock, let€™s get a little timelier with our references. The Rock and Punk do eventually duke it out, with Punk hitting the GTS on the Rock. Not a bad segment to end the RAW before Elimination Chamber. Punk also walked out with the Rocks title. You€™d think by now The Rock would have some sort of security device on his belts considering how often they get stolen by others.

Overall, not a bad RAW. I enjoyed it a lot more than last week. The wrestling on the show was a lot better. The only downside was the amount of post-match talking that went on and The Rock telling stories as the main event. I€™m going to be checking out the Elimination Chamber, but I€™m not sure this episode of RAW would be enough to persuade anyone not already ordering it.

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I'm a 31 year old writer and stand-up comedian from the good ol' USA. I graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Communications that I use to to write jokes on the internet. I'm an avid gamer, media consumer, and pro wrestling fan. I'm also the co-host of the podcast Pop Culture Pizza Party, available on iTunes and Spotify