LIVE Raw thoughts - April 1, 2013

11:04 - Believe it or not, I absolutely applaud that segment.  It was the first thing all show that actually captured my undivided attention.  The second the druids came out, I was hooked on the television.  And when it was finally over, I was legitimately excited to see the match at WrestleMania (it was also the one go-home segment that made me more excited for a given match).  The Heyman as Bearer reveal was absolutely chilling.  And I loved Undertaker coming to a halt before reaching Bearer, as he realized that Punk HAD to be one of the druids in disguise.  The beatdown was great, and Punk wiping his chest and face with the "ashes" inside the urn was twisted and fun.

For the past four years, Undertaker has been battling against faces in matches that were built around respect (not saying it didn't get physical and tense, but overall the build was respectful).  It's fun and refreshing seeing Undertaker go up against a guy who wants to hurt him -- physically, mentally, and emotionally.

This was absolutely the segment to go home with.  Excellent job.

10:48 - I am utterly shocked that the Miz/Barrett Intercontinental title match got moved to the preshow and not this match.  Although I still expect this match to move there by the time WrestleMania comes around.

By the way, are they going to get around to booking Kaitlyn vs. AJ?

10:42 - Nice, Cody and Sandow are doing that "wear your partner's shirt" thing that I like.  I remember Edge and Chavo did this a couple years go.  Nice touch.

10:29 - The recent booking of Antonio Cesaro has been completely baffling.  He was the one guy who constantly looked strong and protected.  He won against faces clean.  He rarely lost.  And when he did, it was under conditions that ensured he continued to look strong.  Then out of no where, they seemingly just decided to give up on him altogether.  He almost always loses, typically in decisive and humiliating fashion (tapping out).

Despite ending 2012 in fairly strong fashion, 2013 has been absolutely dreadful for Kofi Kingston, Antonio Cesaro, Wade Barrett, and Dolph Ziggler.  What the hell is going on?

10:20 - Perhaps Jericho should have been tipped off when the gold curtain was set up over the entranceway.

10:15 - I've never been a huge Miz fan and Barrett has been a bit underwhelming since his return, but it's pretty terrible that a completely unproven and not terribly over Fandango is getting a prime WrestleMania spot against Jericho, while these two are getting booted to the preshow.

Also, Antonio Cesaro should NOT be jobbed out to build a match for Fandango.

10:06 - So the Rock's go-home promo was about him running for president and setting the WWE Championship on fire?

10:03 - Am I wrong, or did The Rocks shoe size go from size 13 to size 15 in the span of two hours?

9:57 - What a shock, the Rock is wearing warm up pants and his t-shirt.  He must shop with Brock Lesnar.

9:50 - The only match that sounds less interesting to me than Alberto Del Rio vs. Zeb Coulter is Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger.

9:42 - "Undertaker's more concerned with Paul Bearer's streak of waking up every morning, and that's now over."  Oh Punk, that was deliciously evil.

9:40 - I kinda get a kick out of WWE's "the best value in entertainment" ad campaign.  It's like they're equating themselves to a dollar store.

9:31 - Was there any doubt in the world that Mark Henry would be the opponent?

I think I've said this before, but Mark Henry should not be wearing a t-shirt.  Mark Henry is incredibly powerful and strong, but he's not built.  Wearing a super XXL t-shirt over his huge body just makes him look fat.  It does him no favors.

9:23 - There's a lot of disappointment on Twitter about the Intercontinental title being demoted to the preshow (and some comments about how Miz went from successfully defending the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, only to be challenging for the Intercontinental Championship on the preshow two years later).

Also, Ryder:  PLEASE stop wearing black, silver, and red trunks with black, purple, and orange boots.

9:19 - Wow, so Miz vs. Barrett got booted to the pershow?  I'm somewhat surprised by that.  It's actually kinda sad seeing Miz out there shilling the match like it's something special.

9:00 - I hope Shawn Michaels gets a nice little WrestleMania paycheck for making fans actually care about a Triple H match for the past three years.  And I'm somewhat surprised that Shawn Michaels even mentioned the World Heavyweight Championship match.

8:43 - Right now the bookers are saying, "Is there any way we can get Alberto Del Rio to make both of them tap?"

8:34 - After that Glen Beck "we're characters" video, I don't even trust that Swagger and Zeb were even in DC.  Was it just a green screen and giant fan?  Also, I've said this before and I'll say it again:   Alberto Del Rio should not be wearing t-shirts.  He's supposed to be upper class.

8:29 - Update:  The leftovers were all frozen.  I was looking forward to eating that all day.

Also, it's the Raw before WrestleMania and I'm talking about my dinner.

8:23 - It's like my own personal April Fools right now.  I just got home looking oh-so-forward to eating some Easter leftovers (lasagna and eggplant parmigiana) only to discover that I can't find any.  I swear to God, if all of the leftovers were given away....