3-26-12 Raw results and thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the March 26, 2012 11 years after the Monday Night Wars and WrestleMania go home episode of Raw

The show starts with Randy Orton coming to the ring for a tag match.

Randy Orton & Sheamus vs. Kane & World Champion Daniel Bryan. Kane & Daniel win when Daniel pins Sheamus. This was solid match. Sheamus was going to Brogue Kick Daniel but then AJ cam in and the referee was distracted and then Kane choke slammed Sheamus and that allowed Daniel to get the pin.

They show the clip of The Rock giving John Cena a Rock Bottom at WrestleMania from last year.

Michael Cole is in the ring and he puts on a Team Johnny t-shirt. He says that moments ago he was named the official commentator for Team Johnny at WrestleMania. Then he introduced Johnny Ace. Ace comes out and introduces his team’s flag bearer Vickie Guerrero. She comes out with a Team Johnny flag. Then he introduces David Otunga and he comes out and poses. Booker T then announces that he will be the Team Teddy commentator. Then he gets on the mic and introduces Teddy Long. Long comes out and introduces Santino Marella. He & Hornswoggle come out.

U.S. Champion Santino Marella vs. David Otunga. Santino gets the pin. Hornswoggle came in and distracted Otunga and Santino got the pin. Then Long & Ace argue again and Long shoves him over Santino. Then Santino was going to give Ace a cobra but The Miz comes out and gave Santino the Skull Crushing Finale. Ace announces that he is the final guy on Team Johnny. This was total comedy.

They show The Rock-Cena promo from Raw the night after WrestleMania 27 where they made the match this year.

They show a video package recapping the build to the Undertaker-Triple H match. They show highlights of both guy’s career. Then they show clips from their match at WrestleMania last year. This was really well put together.

Kelly Kelly vs. Eve Torres. Kelly gets the pin. This was ok. Beth Phoenix was at ringside with Eve.

They show clips of Survivor Series when Rock & Cena teamed up.

They show CM Punk walking backstage as he heads to the ring for his match with Christian next.

Justin Roberts introduces, “The man who calls himself ‘Captain Charisma’” Christian. Christian comes out wearing a Team Johnny shirt. Then CM Punk comes out for the match.

Before the match starts Jericho is on the Tron and he says that he will beat Punk at Mania and show him for the fraud that he is. Then he says that he found out some facts about his mom. He says she’s a kind woman with no troubles. He then says that he found out that his parent’s wedding day took place after Punk’s birthday. So that makes Punk a legal version of a bastard. Another good Jericho promo.

Christian then attacks Punk and chucks him out of the ring. Then Punk pounds the crap out of Christian and gives him a GTS onto the steel stairs. Punk then locks Christian in the Anaconda Vice saying, “This is you Jericho!”  Referees come out and Punk releases the hold but then he goes right back after Christian and locks him in the Anaconda Vice again. This was really good too.

They announce that Christian might have re injured his neck from Punk’s attack. I hope that’s part of the show.

Time for Brodus Clay to call his momma. I can’t stand this gimmick!

Brodus Clay vs. Curt Hawkins. Brodus gets the pin. This was a squash. I’m getting tired of this crappy gimmick!

They show a John Cena promo from Raw last month where he said that he’s fighting for the wrestlers.

Big Show vs. WWE Tag Team Champion Primo. Big Show gets the pin. This was a squash too. Then Epico comes in and Big Show choke slams him too. Then Cody Rhodes comes out and asks if the word WrestleMania scares him since he usually loses. Then he says that after their match they will turn Big Show’s name into a verb saying that people hope they don’t Big Show. He then says he will beat Show at WrestleMania. This was good promo from Cody.

During the short match Michael Cole announced that Christian will not be on Team Johnny because of his neck. I’m not sure if this is part of the storyline but I hope it is.

The Bella Twins are backstage each wearing a team t-shirt and then Zack Ryder comes in saying Team Johnny doesn’t have him. They walk out then Eve comes in and she says that she took her frustrations out on the wrong person. She then asks him what hotel he is staying at. He says that all of Team Teddy will be in the same room. Eve says that’s too bad because she wishes they were at the same hotel. Then she says that after WrestleMania they will celebrate. This was idiotic. They’ve made Ryder look like a complete moron.

Josh Matthews interviews CM Punk. Punk says that Jericho can say what he wants about him but his family is off limits. Then he says that he is the best wrestler in the world. This was a good intense promo.

Before the next match started, Michael Cole mentions that Drew McIntyre will be replacing Christian at WrestleMania.

Great Khali vs. Mark Henry. Henry gets the pin. This was a short match thankfully.

Afterwards Ace shoves Long into the ring and is face to face with Henry. Ace gets on the apron and calls out the rest of his team. They come out and stand in front of the stage. Then Team Teddy comes out and Team Johnny gets the upper hand. Kofi Kingston then spring boards into the ring but Henry catches him and gives him the World’s Strongest Slam. Then Henry was going to do the same to Long but then Booker T came in and attacked Henry and gave him the Axe Kick. Then Long gets the mic and thanks Booker for helping him out and asks him to the final guy for his team. Booker says, “Now can you dig that sucka?” Then he does the spinnarooni. This was kinda weak.

They show clips of the John Cena-Mark Henry match from last Monday where The Rock came out and gave Henry a Rock Bottom.

Time for The Rock and John Cena to have their in ring face off.

Rock comes to the ring and does his pose. Then he gets the mic. The fans chant boots to asses and Rock smiles. Then he says that at WrestleMania 20 he was in what everyone thought was his final match. He says that everywhere he went fans asked him when he is coming back. He says a lot funny stuff throughout all this. He says he didn’t know when he was coming back till last year. He talks about WrestleMania 27 and says that when he gave Cena a Rock Bottom that was when he knew. He then mentions that the next night in this arena is where the match was set and that the fans made history that night. He says that in 6 days he finally returns (I guess we’re supposed to forget that he team with Cena even though they showed the clip). Rock says that there is only one guy that the fans wanted to see him face at WrestleMania. That man is John Cena. He then says that Mania 20 was his last while it was Cena’s first. He then mentions how far Cena’s come. Then before Rock could say more John Cena comes to the ring. He gets the usual mixed reaction. Cena acknowledges the fans’ reaction and he says that he knows that he will get booed at WrestleMania. But that’s ok because he’s used to it. Then he says that for a year he has listened to a lot of trash talk from him but he’s here with a smile on his face. Cena then says that a lot of people have trash talked him in the last 10 years. Then the fans start the dueling Cena chant. Then Cena says that you can’t look past the emotion that happens every time he comes out. Then he starts the dueling chant saying that he has heard that chant for years. He then says that he is a guy who does what his t-shirt says. He rises above and he wins and that’s what gets everyone. He says that some people might hate that but they know he will win at WrestleMania. He mentions that he’s been an active WWE member longer than Rock. He mentions how Rock was around and then left while he’s always been there good and bad. Then he says that at WrestleMania he has to win. He says that after Mania life will go on for Rock when he stars in the G.I. Joe movie while Cena will still be in WWE. Then he says that no one remembers second place and that is why he has to win. Rock says he knows how much this match means to Cena and that it means just as much to him. Then Rock says that he helped build the house Cena’s in. Then he says that the fans know that he has come back to beat Cena. He says that no one has ever said that they were at WrestleMania and beat Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin and Cena. Then he tells Cena that he doesn’t like him and that at WrestleMania he will give him the ass kicking of a life time. Then Cena tells him that it doesn’t matter what Rock thinks. He then says that on April 1 Rock will see him because he will have his hand raised standing over The Rock’s carcass and the headlines will say that he whipped Rock’s ass at WrestleMania. They have one final stare down to end the show. This was a really good closing segment.

I thought this was a good show overall and they did a decent job in the final build for WrestleMania. The Rock & John Cena had a really good back and forth promo. I’m looking forward to that match more now. The rest of the show was ok too. There weren’t any long winded promos this week and the matches were short but some of them were solid. The opening tag match was decent and the Divas match was ok for what it was. The Team Teddy-Team Johnny segment was the usual goofiness. Zack Ryder continues to be booked like a fool. I thought Cody Rhodes cut another good promo too. I also liked Jericho’s promo on the Tron and then Punk locking Christian in the Anaconda Vice. Punk’s promo later on was good too. Overall I thought this was a decent show and they did a solid job with the final hype for WrestleMania.