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11:04 - Both Cena and Rock were on tonight and as a result the end promo was FAR superior to last week's finale. Rock was a lot more assertive in his response than Cena was last week (since Cena came across as, in my view, condescending instead of angry or threatening). But I thought Cena's response was stronger than Rock's last week as well. Overall, both just nailed it. And Cena's post match celebration was a bit of edge that we haven't seen from him in forever. Diving into the crowd. Sticking his tongue out. Grabbing a random beer and drinking it. Then throwing it at the camera man. That's the Cena we need to see through Mania.
However, if one thing hurt Cena, it was the crowd. They weren't outwardly against him.....but they weren't outwardly for him, either. If the crowd was more responsive, the entire segment would have come across stronger.
10:46 - Looks like they're doing Kane/Orton for WrestleMania, which is a fine enough use of two top Superstars. Plus, while these guys have fought a bunch of times, it's not a feud that's been exhausted. But has anybody noticed that for the past two years, Cena's January feud turned into Orton's WrestleMania feud? Last year it was Punk, this year it's Kane.
10:40 - I've said it a bunch of times before but I'll say it again....I LOVE the altered Kane theme, with Kane screaming in the background.
10:36 - One of the former WWE writers on Twitter just noted that because the're going to end the show with a Rock/Cena confrontation, that's further proof that Cena's interruption last week was an audible. I don't buy it. They ended practically every Raw for two months with a Cena/Kane confrontation. I have to say, after they've been online for a year or so, a lot of these writers provide some great insight and fun stories.....but many, MANY times I'm pretty shocked at how far off the map they can be. And based on how critical they are now, you'd think they were writing Shakespeare then.
10:27 - A year ago, would you have imagined that Miz would be squash match fodder to build up an opponent for Cody Rhodes? Wow, what a difference a year makes. If Miz is being punished, I do have to wonder why they left him as the last survivor of the Chamber instead of Ziggler. But here's the question....what does Miz do at WrestleMania?
10:18 - That Rock promo was a little weaker than the first one, but still a lot better than last week's. My one issue with the Rock's portion of the feud is that I wish I had a better sense of why he's angry with Cena. He's stated that Cena badmouthed him, but they're yet to really set a context for that. Prior to Rock's return, Cena had never badmouthed him on WWE television. And they're yet to really pinpoint the interview that Cena DID make comments about Rock. This whole feud is built upon something that's been vaguely alluded to. Has Cena (or WWE?) even made reference to the fact that Rock cost him the WWE Championship at Mania?
10:14 - Great match that makes me eager for both WrestleMania title matches. Also, Cole rooting for Bryan is fun.
10:00 - Love love love love love AJ. One of my favorite parts of this Daniel Bryan push.
9:57 - This best mean that CM Punk is growing his beard back. Thank goodness! Also, great "Colt of Personality" sign!
9:53 - I typically enjoy Cena's promos -- particularly his serious ones -- but something felt off about this one. He almost came off as sad or desperate. I do appreciate that they're emphasizing the importance of winning (which is something they've lacked, generally speaking), but I wish Cena's tone wasn't so much "I need to win" as much as it was "I know I can win." That is, unless they're going the Austin/WrestleMania X-Seven route, by showing that Cena is SO desperate to win that he's willing to turn his back on his beliefs.
Also, this is one of the many situations where things would have felt more authentic if Cena wasn't sitting there in his knee pads and wrist bands.
9:43 - How nice of Michael Cole to crap all over Zack Ryder's big return.
9:40 - That Rock promo was SIGNIFICANTLY better than last week's surprisingly weak performance. That was actually really enjoyable. And I think a series of short promos might work better than one long one. Oh, but Rock, I thought you should know that you have a garden gnome as well....
9:37 - I hate these crowd shots. I don't need to watch people watching TV.
9:30 - I love how they take Zack Ryder off of television only to give Santino a huge push. Santino is probably just as over and just as talented, but the fans weren't demanding a Santino push. They WERE salivating for a Ryder push. Santino is a nice surprise. Ryder was a happy ending. At least it should have been.
9:27 - Way to sell this Switched GM story by having Ace appear on the show before Long. And if Long has all the authority here, why can't he just ban all these people from ringside (including Ace)?
9:22 - What is going on with Jack Swagger's hair?
9:17 - Rather interesting beginning to Raw. It dragged a TAD bit, but it pretty much held my attention. It ended with what many had speculated -- that HBK would be named the Special Guest Referee for the Hell in a Cell match, but it was fun watching the tension build between Triple H and Shawn Michaels. I liked that Shawn called him out on his insecurities -- that being compared to him was the one thing that Triple H couldn't take. I also REALLY enjoyed how he also called Triple H out on his BS response. I do wonder, though, if they should have teased a conspiracy -- that HBK and Triple H would collectively end the streak through coercion, before leading to this conflict in the weeks before the show. Interesting stuff, though.
4 comments:
Yeah, he's wrong there. Let's play pretend and say Cena doesn't come out last week...what was the point of the interview then? It's an argument for why the writing on the arms was not a shoot as well...that was the key thing to take out of it. Otherwise it's just Rock saying nothing of substance then the show ends. Or Rock says nothing of substance and then Cena says nothing of substance. The purpose was the "ohhhhhh!" moment, and to plant the seed that Rock doesnt care enough to even memorize his promo.
Furthermore the fact that Rock is going to interrupt Cena is proof it was NOT an audible. Last week Cena interrupts Rock, this week Rock interrupts Cena.
Oof, I gotta totally disagree about that end promo. Better than last weeks only because last weeks was terrible, but I absolutely hated tonight's promo and it made me want to see the match MUCH less. The last two weeks we've gotten a more intense, more fired up John Cena...this week, he summons the Rock to the ring and then spends the entire segment, as Rock is trying to get fired up and go after Cena, grinning like an asshole with that stupid smirk on his face. A complete and total step back from fired up Cena. It's back to Smiley John Cena who no sells his opponents promos and I cannot stand that. That's the version of John Cena that makes me seriously consider not even watching the show after WM, once this year long Rock feud is done and I know Cena is going to be shoved back into my face and into the title feuds again. I was hoping they were at least going to go the more intense route the last two weeks, but that was all gone with one stupid smirk throughout Rock's entire promo.
I don't disagree with you about Cena's smiley/smirkey behavior. However, I saw it somewhat differently. To me, it wasn't the "let's say funny words and laugh with the crowd" sort of smile. I saw it more as his Thuganomics "I have no respect for you" smile. It felt more condescending and disrespectful than jokey. But I agree that it's a very fine line, and people who particularly dislike smiling Cena won't care what sort of smile it is. They just won't like it.
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