3-11-13 Raw results and thoughts

   Coverage and thoughts on the March 11, 2013 episode of Raw

The show starts with a tribute to Paul Bearer. They show a really awesome video package. I know I’ve been saying this in my last few blogs, but he was a great character and heard nothing but good things about him. I’m gonna miss him!

Then the gong goes off, Undertaker’s music plays and he comes out. The urn is also in the ring. Taker does the old getting on his knee and raising his arm bit and the tribute picture for Paul Bearer shows up on the Tron. The CM Punk’s music hits and out he comes. Punk says the fans misunderstand him coming out. He wanted to extend his heart felt condolences and apologies for Taker’s loss… at WrestleMania. The silver lining is that to Paul Bearer Taker will always be 20-0. But to everyone else in 4 weeks Taker will be 20-1. The night after Mania there won’t be any Bearer tributes. There’ll be videos about Punk. The fans’ grandchildren will ask where they were and they can say they were at WrestleMania and saw Punk end the streak. This was a good short promo. I loved the video package and the urn being in the ring. Punk’s promo was good too, but I’m always uncomfortable when they have someone’s passing in the storylines. 

They show during the break Punk was still on the stage. Kane came out and grabbed Punk by the throat but Punk escaped.

Backstage Kane is throwing stuff around and looking for Punk. He storms the locker room and throws down Alex Riley and then walked out.

Big Show vs. Seth Rollins. Show wins by DQ when Ambrose & Rollins attack. Big Show was going after Reigns and then the other 2 attacked Show, leading to the DQ. Ambrose & Rollins hold Show. Reigns goes for a spear but Show big booted him. Then Ambrose beat down Show in the ring for a bit but Show choke slammed him. Then he was about to choke slam Rollins but Reigns speared him. Then they kicked Show for a bit and the followed that up with the triple power bomb. This was good but I’m not sure why Orton & Sheamus never came out to even the odds. I know they’re not buddy buddy with Big Show but it would’ve made sense if they came out.

Backstage Vickie Guerrero & Brad Maddox are in the GM office. Punk comes in and wants to know who is running the show. He is facing Taker, not Kane. Punk says Taker doesn’t need Kane fighting his battles. Vickie says that Punk disrespected the Paul Bearer tribute and may God have mercy on his soul because Punk will face Kane tonight in a No DQ match.

They show Paul Bearer’s debut on the Brother Love show from February 16, 1991.

WWE Tag Team Champion vs. Dolph Ziggler. Dolph gets the pin. This was a good match. Then AJ looks to Big E. Then Big E picks up Daniel and gives him the big end (I think that’s the name of that maneuver).

Time for a video package on the Triple H-Brock Lesnar feud.

Brodus Clay & Tensai come to the ring and do their bit. Then Justin Roberts introduces Fandango. Tensai gets the mic and tells Fandango to get out there now. Cue Fandango’s music he and his dancing chick come out. Fandango says that Tensai mispronounced his name and on top of that Tensai is a disgrace to the world of dance. Even the fans here in the Midwest would agree that Brodus & Tensai are an abomination. He will come to the ring when he gets his name right. Justin goes to say his name but Fandango tells “Joshua” not him. He wants Naomi to announce him because she is better than all this. Naomi has the mic but Tensai snatches it and then Fandango says everyone once again got gypped out of seeing a match with Faaaaandaaaaaaango. I’m getting really tired of this!

Time for a G.I. Joe movie trailer that The Rock is in. 

The show Paul Bearer & The Undertaker from WrestleMania 20.

Rhodes Scholars are in the ring. Sandow want silence. The following interpretation is brought to you by taste and good form. Cody sings the Outlaws theme. Sandow says oh you were aware? Your posterior better contact someone at once. Then Cody does a Road Dogg intro for their team. Sandow says if the fans aren’t “down” with that, they have 2 words for them. “You’re Welcome.” Out come the Outlaws. Road Dogg tells Cody & Sandow very clever. Then Road Dogg does the usual intro bit. Then Gunn says if you’re not down with that they words for ya. This was good. I liked Cody’s & Sandow’s parading Road Dogg’s intro.

The (Not So) New Age Outlaws vs. Rhodes Scholars. Brock Lesnar’s music hits and he & Paul Heyman come out. Gunn goes after him and the referee calls for the bell. Then Lesnar gives Gunn the F5. Then he does the same to Road Dogg.

Then Heyman says HHH wants Brock to know that the king is on. Brock doesn’t play games, he hurts people. Like Shawn Michaels & Vince. Brock broke Michaels’ arm and he broke Vince in half to the point where Stephanie her dad get placed in an ambulance with tears running down her face. Now he’s laid out the Outlaws into oblivion. Will Brock fight HHH as WrestleMania? The answer is YES! But Brock will fight HHH at WrestleMania only if Brock & Heyman get to name the stipulations. Brock won’t say what those stipulations are till HHH signs the contract. Heyman says HHH can blindly sign the contract or disappoint his wife, children, father and law and most of all him self. If you’re not down with that Heyman’s got 2 words for you. Brock Lesnar. This was really good. Heyman was great on the mic like always.

Kofi Kingston vs. Mark Henry. Henry gets the pin. This was a short but decent match. Kofi got a bit of offense in but this was mostly Henry.

Backstage we see Cody Rhodes & Kaitlyn. Then Sandow comes by and he says he’s more suitable companions for him & Cody. They are double than any woman in the Divas division. In come the Bella Twins. Kaitlyn says she thought they were fired. They say that they’re back at the right time because the Divas division is lacking. Then Vickie comes by and says that since Lesnar cut their match with the Outlaws short, Cody & Sandow will face Orton & Sheamus later tonight. “You’re Welcome.” This was ok. I was surprised to see the Bella Twins back.

Time for a look at this Wednesday’s episode of Psych, guest starring Big Show. (I’ve actually been watching that show the last couple of weeks and it’s pretty good).

Ryback vs. Heath Slater. Ryback gets the pin. This was a squash. Then Drew McIntyre hits Ryback from behind but Ryback gives him Shell Shock. Then Mark Henry gets in the ring and gives Drew the World’s Strongest Slam. Then Ryback gives Drew a second muscle buster. Then Henry gives Drew a second World’s Strongest Slam. Then Ryback & Henry stare each other down and jaw jack with each other. Ryback gets the fans into the feed me more chant and Henry leaves the ring. This was solid. Ryback-Henry at WrestleMania should be interesting. Too bad Drew McIntyre took such a pounding here though.

Time for a trailer for The Call. What is this doing on here?

In the Goldman box Del Rio says he was born in Mexico but he was made in America.

World Champion Alberto Del Rio vs. U.S. Champion Antonio Cesaro. Del Rio wins by submission. This was a solid match.

Kane is backstage. Josh Mathews says this has to be a troubling time for him. Kane has the urn. He stands there for a bit looking at it and walks off. I heard a fan in the crowed shout, “Say something!”

Time for a video package on The Rock-John Cena 2.

They show Paul Bearer from October 1997 when Kane debuted.

Randy Orton & Sheamus vs. Rhodes Scholars. Orton & Sheamus win when Sheamus pins Sandow. This was decent.

They show during the commercial, Orton & Sheamus were walking up the ramp and then The Shield came out. They threw Orton off the stage and Reigns speared Sheamus.

They show some fans TOUTS remembering Paul Bearer.

Chris Jericho comes out for the Highlight Reel. Jericho welcomes everyone to Raw is Jericho and the Highlight Reel. His guest tonight is the star of the Marine 3. Time for a clip from the movie. Jericho says the Marine 3 looks awesome. His guest tonight is The Miz. Miz comes to the ring. Miz says it’s nice to be a guest rather than a host. Jericho mentions that first stay sales of Marine 3 was great. Then out comes Wade Barrett. He says Miz isn’t a real actor like he is. The whole world knows that Dead Man Down opened in the top 5 at the box office and here’s why. Time for a clip from that movie. Barrett says that is what we should be talking about. Miz says we get it, we’ve been hearing this garbage for weeks. Barrett says he can do it all as far as acting. He’s turning down Hollywood offers because he is too busy being IC Champion and too busy being Wade Barrett. They exchange a few reallys. Then Miz says that Barrett hasn’t won a match in weeks and it’s a matter of time before he loses the IC Title. Then Jericho says really and Barrett tells him to stay out of this. Barrett gets in the ring and Jericho reminds him who he is talking too. Jericho helped Barrett win the first NXT. Barrett is a 2 time IC Champion but Jericho is a 9 time IC Champion. Maybe he will make it 10. Then out comes Brad Maddox. He tells them to knock it off and they won’t act like that on his show. Brad has an exciting announcement. Tensions are obviously running high and they need to chill out. Brad says the IC Title is the most prestigious title there is. Then Brad says that Barrett will defend the IC Title next week against the winner of the Jericho-Miz match. That match is next. This was lame. I have no idea why they bothered having a Highlight Reel focusing on this. Also the Intercontinental Title is sadly not the prestigious title it used to be.

The Miz vs. Chris Jericho to see who will challenge Wade Barrett for the Intercontinental Title next week. The match goes to a no finish when Wade Barrett attacks both guys. Wade Barrett was on commentary and Jericho threw Miz into Barrett. Then Barrett goes after them and the referee calls for the ball. Then Jericho baseball slides Barrett into the announce table and then Jericho & Miz throw him in the ring. Miz gives Barrett a skull crushing finale and then Jericho gave Barrett a code breaker. This was pointless. They have this match to see who will challenge for the IC Title, the match goes to a no finish so there’s no number 1 contender and the commentators don’t even acknowledge it.

Time for a look at The Del Rio-Ricardo video where they parodied The Jack Swagger-Zeb Coulter videos.

They show a Paul Bearer video from 1995 with Mr. Fuji & Nick Turturro.

Sin Cara is in the ring. Then Jack Swagger & Zeb Coulter come out. Zeb says that Sin Cara is another problem with the country. He doesn’t speak English but the fans are programmed to cheer him because of his entrance and he jumps around like a Mexican jumping bean. Zeb knows what Cara is and the fans agree. Sin Cara is a thief because 365 nights a year there’s a Sin Cara sneaking across the boarder looking to take jobs from Americans. It’s the fans’ fault because they’re afraid to speak. Jack & Zeb aren’t afraid and if the fans are too afraid they’ll say it for them. Zeb then mentions Del Rio’s comment from before. Zeb says Del Rio’s made them aware of how many things need to change in our country. Swagger says that at WrestleMania he will win the World Title. Welcome to Jack Swagger’s America. We The People.

Michael Cole says that Wade Barrett will defend the Intercontinental Title next week against both The Miz & Chris Jericho.

Sin Cara vs. Jack Swagger. Swagger wins by submission. This was a squash. Then Del Rio comes out and he takes down Swagger. They go at it and Del Rio gets the cross arm breaker on Swagger and Zeb pulls Swagger out of the ring.

They show a Halle Berry interview and David Otunga calls her. He says that he might have given someone her phone number. The she gets a call from Kane. He knows where she lives. She asks if he’s the crazy guy in the red mask who writes her everyday. He says maybe. She’s going to kill Otunga. Kane asks if this means they’re not going on their picnic. What the F was this on here for?

WWE Tag Team Champion Kane vs. CM Punk in a No DQ match. Kane gets the pin. During the match Kane took apart the announce table and then Punk hit Kane in the head with the ring bell. Then punk stared at the urn and Kane hit Punk with a monitor and then the cover of the announce table. Later in the match Kane threw some chairs in the ring and was going to choke slam Punk on 1 of them but Punk turned it into a DDT. Punk covered Kane but he kicked out at 2. Then Punk hit Kane with the chair twice. He was going to hit him a third time but Kane grabbed him by the throat for a choke slam but Punk countered. Then the gong sounded. That distracted Punk and allowed Kane to hit the choke slam for the pin. Afterwards The Undertaker’s music plays and he comes out. The picture of Paul Bearer shows up on the Tron. Kane & Taker both kneel paying tribute to Paul Bearer. Then Punk hits Kane in the back of the head with the urn. Then Taker hits the ring and Punk walks up the ramp holding the urn. Punk kneels on the stage and does the Undertaker pose. Then Taker does the throat slash. Punk smirks as Taker glares at him to end the show. This was good. I liked both the match and the bit afterwards. I’m uncomfortable when they have someone’s passing brought into a storyline but they did a good job continuing the build to Taker-Punk at WrestleMania.

I thought this was a solid show overall. The Taker-Punk segment at the start was good. I’m not into someone’s passing being part of a storyline but Punk’s promo was good like usual. The Kane-Punk match was good too. A lot of back and forth and some plunder. The gong distracting Punk and Kane getting the win from that was a good finish also and the Taker-Punk stare down was good. I also liked seeing the videos of Paul Bearer throughout the night. He was awesome! The Outlaws vs. Rhodes Scholars was more of a backdrop for Lesnar to come in and lay out Road Dogg & Gunn. I liked Heyman’s promo too. He also was good as usual. The HHH-Lesnar match at WrestleMania will hopefully be enjoyable. Kofi-Henry was mostly a squash but Kofi got some offense in. Ryback-Slater was a total squash. Having Ryback & Henry face off was good too but I felt bad for Drew McIntyre. He took a beating here. The Highlight Reel segment was pointless. Del Rio-Cesaro was solid and Daniel-Dolph was good. Cara-Swagger was also a squash. The Brodus-Tensai-Fandango bit was terrible. I’m really tired of this guy complaining about his name being “mispronounced.” Big Show-Seth Rollins wasn’t much of match. This was about The Shield attacking Big Show. Orton & Sheamus vs. Rhodes Scholars was decent too and I was surprised that the Bella Twins returned. I liked that The Shield came out and went after Orton & Sheamus too. Overall I thought this was a solid show this week.