5-7-12 Raw results and thoughts

           Coverage and thoughts on the May 7, 2012 episode of Raw

The show starts with Justin Roberts introducing Johnny Ace. Johnny comes to the ring and says that he is the authority figure for WWE. He says he won’t allow anyone to challenge his authority, not even Cena. He says that last week Cena called him an idiot. He then says that he injured Cena’s pride and at Over The Limit will do continue what Brock stopped. Then he says he will show the world how dangerous ha can be. Then he says that the Board of Directors understands that he is tough but fair. He says that he has asked that Cena not there live tonight. Johnny says that he wants Cena at 100% so he won’t have any excuses when he loses to him. Then he says that Cena will be live by satellite and be interviewed my Cole. He says that Cena will apologize for mimicking his voice. He says that his voice sounds the way it does because of a match he had with Steve Williams in Japan years ago. Then they show some pics of Johnny’s old matches on the Tron. He says that he was the Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin & Rock all rolled into one. He then says that when WWE offered him a contract back then he said no. Then he says that for one night only we will see John Cena vs. Big Johnny. He says this match will be bigger Than Rock-Cena & Cena-Brock. Then CM Punk comes to the ring and says that Johnny still doesn’t know what the fans want to hear or see. Punk says that he is here to help him out. He tells Johnny that the fans don’t wanna see him all the time. Punk then says that this about Johnny putting his chips on Lesnar and then Cena beat him. Then Punk says that embarrassed Ace. He calls Johnny a hyena picking up the scraps. He says that Johnny was and still is a joke. Punk says he will watch Cena beat him at Over the Limit. Punk asks the fans and they want to hear more. Punk says Johnny is stupid, ugly and he has no friends. Then he calls Ace a gigantic toolbox. Ace says if wasn’t in training he would pummel Punk to the ground. Then Johnny says that tonight Punk will face Lord Tensai. Punk says that Ace has always hid behind other guys. Punk says he looks forward to that and to seeing Cena twist Johnny into a pretzel and watch him tap out. This was a good opening segment. Punk’s promo was great as usual.

They show Johnny Ace backstage texting and he bumps into Big Show. Ace tells him to stay out of his way. Show sarcastically says “whatever you say.” Then Eve shows up and stares down show.

Big Show vs. Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes for the Title. Big Show wins by count out when Cody walks out. Not much of a match. Then Show gets the mic and tells Cody to come back into the ring. Cody heads to the back and Show says that if he has to go after Cody it will be worse. Then Eve Torres comes to the ring and tells Show to apologize. Show asks for what. Eve says for mimicking Johnny Ace’s voice. Show says he’s sorry. Eve says that she told Show to apologize, not to say that he is sorry. Then she says that outside this business there isn’t much need for a guy is size and she calls him a freak. Then she tells him to apologize again. He reluctantly apologizes. Big Show walks up the ramp all pissed. This was stupid. Eve as the executive heel doesn’t work for me. It looks like Cody is in the de-push mode right now. Why do they do this to young guys?

My cable box went out so I might have missed something. My apologies.

Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler. Dolph gets the pin after Swagger gets involved. I didn’t see the whole match because of my cable box, but what I saw was decent. They showed A.W, Primo, Epico & Rosa watching backstage and Mason Ryan showed up.

Michael Cole is in the ring. John Cena comes on the Tron and thanks the fans for their concern. Coles asks for an update. Cena says that the doctors told not to compete for the next few months. Cena says that had no idea who they were dealing with. Cole asks if Cena is surprised that the Board of Directors didn’t do anything. Cena says that he talked to the board and told them not to fire Ace till after the PPV. Cole says that because of Johnny’s past accomplishments in the ring Cena might be scared. Cena says that he’s scared of what he will do to Johnny. He says that in 13 days Johnny won’t be a suit. He will be Cena’s opponent and that means he will kick Johnny’s ass. This was a good segment. I thought Cena’s promo was good and quick. I also like they didn’t have Michael Cole go overboard with the heel character.

Divas Champion Layla & Kelly Kelly vs. Natalya & Maxine. Layla & Kelly win when Layla pins Maxine. This wasn’t much either. Beth Phoenix was on commentary.  I don’t why they had Natalya & Maxine team up. I thought Natalya was a face.

World Champion Sheamus & Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio & Chris Jericho. Jericho & Alberto win when Jericho pins Sheamus. This was a good back and forth match. Sheamus was going for the Brogue kick and wound up kicking Orton. Then Jericho hit the Code Breaker for the 3 count. Afterwards Jericho held up the World Title. Then Sheamus helps Orton up but then Orton gives Sheamus an RKO. Is this the start of a Sheamus-Orton rivalry?

Johnny Ace tells Eve that Big Show’s apology was insincere. She says she will talk to Show. Jericho comes in and says that he should get a World Title match since he just pinned Sheamus. Then Del Rio comes in and he and Jericho bicker. Then Orton comes in and says he should get a title match. Then a brawl breaks out and Sheamus comes in. The faces clean house on the heals. The Orton & Sheamus argue. Then Johnny says that at Over The Limit the World Title match will now be a 4 Way. Good segment, but I think it’s kinda soon to be having a 4 Way.

Brodus Clay time. UGH!

The Miz comes out with a mic and does his really bit. He complains about having to face Brodus rather than being in the World Title hunt. He says that after this match he wants Brodus to call his momma and say that he is The Miz and he’s (not so) awesome. Miz has really gotten demoted!

Brodus Clay vs. The Miz. Brodus gets the pin. This was the longest match Brodus has had since this gimmick. It wasn’t much though. They have really pushed Miz down the card.

They recap the Triple H-Brock Lesnar bit from last Monday.

They show a pic of Triple H with his arm in a special cast.

Brock Lesnar’s music plays and PAUL HEYMAN RETURNS! Heyman says that he is here as Brock’s representative. He says Brock has been underappreciated by the fans since day one. He says that also holds true for WWE management. Heyman says that WWE today is different than it was 10 years ago. He talks about the demands Lesnar made 2 weeks ago and that Lesnar feels betrayed by the fans. He says that Brock is the only man In history to hold the NCAA, WWE & UFC Titles. He says that Brock is an honest man. He says that Brock hurt people just like he said he would. Then Heyman says that Brock asked him to be on Raw and read his statement. It says that he came back to bring legitimacy to WWE and got nothing for it. He says that Triple H couldn’t last in a fight with him. The statement read that Hunter broke their agreement so Brock broke Hunter’s arm. Then Heyman reads that Lesnar is never coming back because he quits. This was awesome! I loved seeing Paul Heyman back! That was a great surprise! He cut a great promo as usual too! I like where this storyline is going. I’m guessing we’ll be getting Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar at some point. They should have that at SummerSlam.

They show 2 guys backstage with Big Show saying that he shouldn’t have to apologize to Eve. The guys say they’re detectives. Then they talk like Johnny and Eve shows up again. Whatever. I think those were the guys from Psych.

CM Punk comes out but before the match, Johnny Ace comes out and tells Punk that he will face Lord Tensai & Daniel Bryan next.

WWE Champion CM Punk vs. Lord Tensai & Daniel Bryan. Tensai & Bryan win when Tensai gets the pin. This was a solid match. Afterwards Daniel does his yes chant while Tensai shows his “claw” to the camera. Then Daniel comes in and kicks Punk. Then he gets Pink in the Yes Lock saying that Punk is not better than him. Then Daniel reapplies the hold for a bit. Then he does his yes chant while standing over Punk to end the show. Great post match stuff there.

I thought this was a good show overall. Sheamus & Orton vs. Alberto & Jericho was the best match of the show. The brawl with all 4 guys in Johnny Ace’s office was good too. I’m not sure if I would have set up a Fatal 4 Way for the next PPV, but I thought this was good. Punk vs. Tensai & Bryan was solid too. Bryan is really good at being the cocky heel. He & Punk should have a great match at Over The Limit. I loved seeing Paul Heyman back! That was a nice surprise! He was great with his mic work as usual! Great to have him back. Hopefully they’ll have Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. The Miz continues to get pushed down the card. His match with Brodus Clay wasn’t much. I liked Cena’s promo on the Tron too. It was nice and short with him saying that he will be at the PPV and face Johnny Ace. The opening segment was good too. Punk was great on the mic as usual. It was also interesting to see pics of Johnny Ace from back in the day. I’m not into Eve’s character at all. The bits with her & Big Show were weak. The Big Show-Cody Rhodes match wasn’t much either. I don’t know why they feel the need to give the young guys these yo-yo pushes. The divas tag match wasn’t much either. It was more of a way to mention that Layla will defend the title against Beth at over the limit. Kofi-Dolph was decent too. It looks like Mason Ryan will be part of the A.W. stable. On the whole I thought this week’s show was good.