LIVE Raw thoughts - August 11, 2014

11:16 - Really fun segment and it was genuinely nice to see some old, familiar faces.  However, is there a reason why the entire roster just let Brock Lesnar walk into the ring?  Why did they have to wait for Cena to come down to stop him?

I will say this, though:  Showing the Hogan celebration on the WWE Network is enough reason for me to switch over to that.  Good use of the Network and making people feel like they're missing exclusive content.  Now they just have to make sure not to post it on WWE.com.

10:38 - I don't know why, but it really annoys me when the announcers refer to Kane as "Corporate Kane."  It's a little too self referential.

10:24 - Things I enjoy:  Miz's heel character (and his outrageous character) and the genuine energy Ziggler displays during his entrance.  Something really missing in this era of people who need to be calmer and cooler than the room.

10:13 - I haven't loved this Stephanie/Brie storyline as much as most on the internet, but I do like Brie's Daniel Bryan-inspired ring gear.  Nice.  Wondering what happens here, though.

10:06 - Really, REALLY enjoyed that Cena promo.  However, it's based on the premise that he comes out at SummerSlam NOT wearing his usual gear.  And since he JUST debuted new merchandise, I find that hard to believe.  But great stuff otherwise.

9:56 - Wow, shocking.  John Cena usually has a new entrance video the day he debuts a new color scheme.  He came out in his new red/yellow gear, but his video is still the neon green.

9:49 - I'm not quite sure I understand why Eva Marie was in pain on the arena floor in the first place.

9:41 - Very, very effective segment and the most I've enjoyed Bray Wyatt's character since he's debuted.  However, I'll say it again:  I hate it when they do the abrupt Wyatt cut, only to jump to the announcers.  They should ALWAYS go to commercial.

9:28 - While I admit it was at least a competitive match (that Cesaro looked fine in), I still can't get over the fact that he's tapping clean to Swagger considering where these two were after WrestleMania.  Is there any reason why Cesaro, and not -- say -- the half dozen guys they regularly job out has to fill that role?

I certainly can't wrap my head around this "well, we're pushing Reigns right now.  We gotta taper off on Cesaro" argument.  There's a difference between strapping a rocket to somebody's ass and simply making them look strong.  There's no reason why Cesaro should be regularly losing clean, with no entrance on television, without any storyline whatsoever.  Ridiculous waste of an over talent.

9:15 - After WrestleMania, would you have believed that Swagger would have gotten a big babyface entrance while Cesaro's would be untelevised?  So sad.

8:53 - I actually liked that....with them teasing that Ambrose was hiding in the gift, then backing away from it, and then revealing he was in the present.  I could've done without the Network shilling in the midst of an intense promo, though.

8:50 - It's really strange seeing Rob Van Dam doing so many clean jobs.  Not complaining, per se, but he's somebody who's typically been pretty protected his entire career (no matter where he wrestled on the card), and yet now he's pretty frequently losing cleanly.

8:31 - As others have noted, Ryback went from squashing people 2 on 1, to being the guy on the "two" side of the handicap match.

8:19 - Call me a sucker....but I kinda like the whole story of Kane portraying two completely different characters depending on whether or not he's wearing his mask.  I don't, however, necessarily like him acknowledging as two separate people (like him saying "you beat Kane").

8:11 - Not shockingly, utterly fantastic opening segment.  That promo, and the anticipation it set for the SummerSlam title match, probably sold more Network subscriptions than the shilling and saying "$9.99" over and over again.

8:05 - Brock not destroying those Hogan gifts was very uncharacteristic.