Official Monday Night RAW Thread 2/25/13

I'm fine with Punk vs Taker, if that's where they're going. Not really interested in Cena vs Rock 2. Thought last year was decent

It was really good but MITB was better, IMO.

sigh what next for Punk....

I see mighty Cena holding the title after WM for a loooong time

It's not about being mad that Punk didn't go over, it's the fact that everybody knew Cena was going to win. All the Punk near falls and stuff just didn't do anything for me. Part of a great match, to me at least, means there has to be some sort of unpredictability. Not once did I actually think there was any possible way Punk was winning, especially after Undertaker returned on Saturday, and especially after Punk's whole "I am God" promo earlier in the night. MITB was great because we really had no idea who was going to win.

That would've been a lame ending. Plus that would nearly ruin The Shield.

Notes regarding tonight...

-Opening segment was great. I'm still not sold on a Lesnar/Triple H rematch, I don't think it has all that much appeal, but the brawl was great. Lesnar just looks like a monster covered in blood.

-I think it's hilarious that two Triple H's exist. Corporate, suit-wearing, clean kept Triple H, but then he can magically bust out the jeans and t-shirt whenever he wants to fight. It's silly. The COO angle needs to just be dropped for the time being. Let him do his job backstage and save the corporate garbage for when he's actually retired. McMahon is still clearly in control on TV anyway.

-Dolph Ziggler is worth absolutely nothing at this point. He can't cash in the briefcase because he's a total joke. He can't beat a single credible opponent, even with interference from two people on a weekly basis. They could have at least given Ziggler a win due to interference by the Shield. Anything. If he cashes in at Wrestlemania, it's going to be Swagger 2.0.

-The Great Khali was treated like the joke that he is. Good. Mark Henry is still hilarious. "THAT'S WHAT I DO!"

-The Sheamus/Wade Barrett angle is so horrible. These two have wrestled how many times on Smackdown now? What makes WWE think people want to see it again? The crowd couldn't have possibly cared less about this entire segment. They're grasping at straws here. If this leads to a Wrestlemania match, I can't help but be reminded of the Edge/Booker T crap from Wrestlemania 18. Seriously, this is just plain bad.

-Prime Time Players can't even get a win against a blindfolded/one handed dysfunctional team? Give me a damn break. The tag division is a joke all over again.

-Miz TV segment was interesting. I'm shocked they're moving forward with Swagger, quite honestly. I like Swagger and I loved this character change, but quite frankly, I don't agree with the decision to move forward without punishment. If WWE doesn't want the Wellness program to be treated like a joke, they need to set fair and equal standards across the board, not make exceptions for guys they've got big plans for. On the subject of the segment itself, I'm not really all that intrigued thus far. Colter is great on the mic, but Del Rio seems forced and the angle is just too stereotypical for my liking. Hoping to see more development.

-I loved the dynamic between Maddox and Vickie. So much for them "taking away from the wrestling" as someone was complaining about here.

-The Shield segment was strange. Their promo was solid, as usual, and it seemed to clearly indicate a possible Undertaker return, but then it's just...Sheamus? Wait, isn't this guy in a feud with Wade Barrett now? Oh, and here comes Randy Orton - the other guy we can't find anything for. Where was Ryback? You know, the one guy the Shield is actually feuding with? Stupid.

-Cena/Punk match was fantastic. This is the Rock/Austin of this generation, I don't care what anyone says. They light crowds on fire every time they lock up, they have fantastic chemistry and every match has a big fight feel. You can't ask for anything more than that.

Of course, the night ends in (expected) thorough disappointment. I understand the reasoning for going with Rock/Cena, but I think it's a disservice to exclude CM Punk from the main event. It's thoroughly disappointing. He has every right to be there, the match makes perfect sense, the story has been written for nearly two years. It's just unfortunate that the guy who carried the company on his back for an entire year was just keeping the seat warm for the "big boys". But business is business.

I also have a huge problem with the way they're selling Cena in this whole scenario. They act as if the guy has been a wreck for the last year just because he hasn't held the title. Like he needed to win the Rumble and beat Punk to "get back on track". He even goes as far to say, in character, that he "wasn't sure he'd make Wrestlemania." Stop insulting our intelligence. Everyone knows that even when Cena wasn't the champion, he was still the guy. He was still main eventing Pay-Per-Views. Hell, they even made an angle out of it for Punk/Cena last fall. I can't stand it when WWE treats the audience like mindless sheep, and that's exactly what is being done here.

One week Heymans at Punks side. Next week there's no mention of the two ever affiliating. I don't get it =/ .

Lack of surprise was the worst part of this raw. We knew HHH and Lesnar was coming. We knew Cena was going to win. Hell, the biggest surprise of the night was Cena attempting a huracanrana. He was terrible at it obviously. But still. Great match. And Colter got like 5 or 6 minutes of mic time so overall was a good raw.

They only kicked out of finishers twice.

It's a good thing Punk is wrestling Undertaker at Wrestlemania, since he's being straight buried.