Video: Brock Lesnar returns to WWE

In case you somehow hadn’t heard, Brock Lesnar returned to WWE last night during Raw. While Lesnar probably isn’t back for a full time schedule, rumors are that he has signed a one-year deal with the company. It seems likely that he’ll wrestle John Cena on an upcoming pay-per-view (my guess would be SummerSlam) after last night’s events.

One thing that hasn’t been talked about much is what a great job Michael Cole did in framing the moment. He made Lesnar out to be an absolute monster and foreshadowed that things are about to change. For all the bad things we say about Cole, this was an instance where he did a tremendous job.

Video: Footage of crowd going nuts during Raw dark match

The Miami crowd for last night’s post-WrestleMania Raw was absolutely amazing. The whole night the fans in attendance chanted for Daniel Bryan and busted out loud “Yes!” chants reminiscent of the “What!” serenades we’ve heard in the past. When Daniel Bryan wrestled in a six-man tag match after Raw went off the air, the crowd was even hotter. Below is fan video of the match (before WWE inevitably has it removed.)

7.5.10 WWE Raw review

Last night’s Raw was certainly better than the previous week’s attempt and the build towards the Money in the Bank pay-per-view was continued. Not surprisingly, the lack of a guest host also helped the show, and the lame comedy stuff was kept to a minimum.

The one thing that really hurt the show for me, as it does every week, was John Cena’s mic work. His comedy at this point is so over-the-top that even Nickelodeon viewers would be gagging at its stupidity. Him telling Wade Barrett to shove his handshake “up his Nexus” only could have been funny to those under the age of five. Compared to Wade Barrett, Cena looked like an absolute fool on the microphone.

The 7-on-1 “punishment” match that was booked for next week featuring the Nexus v. Cena had me rolling my eye. You just know SuperCena will somehow beat everyone. I don’t think even Hulk Hogan was ever booked this strong during his heyday in the WWE.

As for the rest of the show:

- I liked the two teases that the anonymous GM is Steve Austin. It’s pretty obvious that it isn’t him, but it’s a nice way to get people intrigued. I wouldn’t be shocked if next weekend the GM asked if we smelled what he was cooking.

- The show was pretty light on wrestling but the main event tag match of Chris Jericho and Edge v. Randy Orton and Evan Bourne went long and was decent. WWE is effectively mixing in all the members of Raw’s Money in the Bank ladder match to create some animosity and anticipation. Orton RKO’ing Bourne after the match was expected, as it keeps Orton as the “Stone Cold”-like character that is a face but doesn’t need to be buddies with anyone.

- Although the match itself was an afterthought, I liked the Ted DiBiase v. John Morrison bout. Maryse has been more compelling in her few appearances with DiBiase than she ever was on her own. This angle reminds me a lot of the old days and Maryse reminds me a lot of Sensational Sherri in this role.

- The Miz’s beatdown of R-Truth was effective in getting Miz over as a dangerous heel. He’s already got main event level talent and this might be the icing on the cake. It was later announced that Truth will not compete in the Money in the Bank ladder match, so I’m curious if the attack was a way to cover for a legit injury or Truth just wanted some time off. It will also be interesting to see who fills in for R-Truth in the match.

- All in all, a decent program. As I said on Twitter last night, I would give it a C+/B-. The progression was good and the show never stalled, which is probably thanks to not having a guest host. The usually lame stuff was kept to a minimum.

Quick thoughts on this week’s episodes of WWE Raw and NXT

I’m a few days late this week with my recap of Raw, so I’ll just mash it together with my NXT thoughts. Honestly, there was really nothing at all about this week’s Raw that I was particularly impressed with. It was kind of a letdown show after the cliffhanger from last week involving the NXT group, now known as The Nexus.

That’s partly due to the absence of Wade Barrett, who reportedly has left the country due to work visa issues. Hopefully they’re resolved soon because the group just isn’t the same without him.

The show was especially light on wrestling this week, even though the main event eight-man tag match went longer than expected. I don’t need to see anything more from Vladimir Kozlov or Santino Marella, and especially not the two together. Their match would have been much better suited for Superstars. And does anyone care that Ranjin Singh and The Great Khali are apparently splitting. That’s a total waste of screen time that could be much better used to enhance guys like Zack Ryder, Evan Bourne, The Usos, etc.

The more I think about it, I can’t find anything good at all about this show. Even the ending segment, which was meant to build anticipation for the Money in the Bank match at the PPV, was done poorly simply because it felt like it should have happened on the go-home show, not a program weeks before the event.

As for NXT, there wasn’t much good about it either. We saw the return of the rookie challenges, which this week featured a keg carrying challenge. Yawn. At least the right guy was eliminated, as Titus O’Neil was given the boot.

WWE follows up lackluster PPV with solid Raw

WWE followed up their weak Fatal 4 Way effort with a strong episode of Raw. We learned that Bret Hart had been fired as GM of the show and a new anonymous general manager was announced. We also got more from the NXT crew and a few solid wrestling matches.

- The opening to the show was good, except for John Cena doing his jokey routine one day after being screwed out of the WWE title thanks to the NXT guys and Sheamus. I did enjoy Cena sneaking in a use of the word “jimbrones,” though. Anyway, as corny as the anonymous general manager emailing during the segment was, it was effective.

Announcing Vince McMahon as the guest referee and then having him just be an outside enforcer was a little lame, but maybe that was just a mix up on the announce team’s part.

- I thought the segments involving NXT were well done. Wade Barrett comes off like an absolute star on the mic and hopefully his ring work can back that up and push him to the next level. He explained why he would band together with all the men he had beaten in the competition, saying it was because of loyalty and a pact they had made. I’ll buy that. At least WWE has tried to explain some of the more illogical things in this story so far.

You knew the NXT7 would interfere in the main event match between Sheamus and John Cena but I liked that they turned on Vince McMahon at the end of the show. While many people are complaining that the NXT guys are now babyfaces because of that, I just don’t see it that way. The whole time they’ve been attacking both faces and heels, so turning on McMahon only shows their ruthlessness and that it’s them against the WWE.

- I enjoyed the follow-up Evan Bourne v. Chris Jericho match, as would be expected. I thought some of the stuff was a little too similar to their previous night’s match but that’s a nitpick on my part. Jericho saying he would retire if he lost was a clear tease for the IWC after all the recent Jericho contract speculation.

- The Miz came off strong during his interaction with Randy Orton. He could definitely benefit from a program with Orton, but it seemed more like a side bit to the Orton-Edge feud.

- There was no guest host and, not surprisingly, the show was better for it. We got a stupid mixed tag match with Khali and Eve against Alicia Fox and Primo, but I’ll take that over silly guest host filler any day.

- I really like the Ted DiBiase-Maryse pairing. They seem to have chemistry and I think they can help elevate each other to new heights. And I’ll never complain about seeing Maryse twice in one program.

- Again, a nice Raw that has me very interested to see what happens next week. I would assume the GM will be revealed and there are a lot of good guesses out there as to who it will be. I might have a post up tomorrow on that topic so stay tuned.

The NXT Invasion continues to play out on WWE Raw

WWE wisely kept the NXT angle going last night, with the group being featured throughout the episode of Raw. We got a couple decent matches and a few more announced for this Sunday’s Fatal 4 Way pay-per-view.

- I’m in the minority here, but Bret Hart just does not seem smooth on the mic at all anymore. Slipping up and saying “WWF” is no big deal, but he seems to stumble through his words a lot and say the same things over and over. It didn’t help that he was up against Wade Barrett, who is calm and cool on the stick. Barrett also mentioned that Daniel Bryan had been kicked out of the group for showing remorse, which is a decent excuse for his firing. If anything, it also will establish Bryan as a strong babyface with an ax to grind if he does come back.

I liked the opening segment, though. It got over the idea that the NXT gang has absolutely nothing to lose and it gave some explanation for their actions. The attack later in the show and subsequent brawl between the NXT guys and the WWE performers was good. It sent the message that the NXT rookies are legit threats, since Randy Orton, Edge and Sheamus came out to help. I could have done without Santino Marella being involved, but mostly because he’s just a lame comedy act.

The ending of the show, with NXT “abducting” Bret Hart and tossing him in a limo that smashed into cars like a pinball was effective. The angle is definitely the biggest thing WWE has going for them and I’m very intrigued to see if anything comes of it during the PPV, which is clearly WWE’s goal.

- The pay-per-view has basically been buried. I had to laugh when Michael Cole said a match had been added to an already huge pay-per-view, when the show only had two scheduled bouts at the time.

- The Miz v. R-Truth v. John Morrison v. Zack Ryder fourway match was good. It showed the limits of a fourway match, but they also incorporated some nice spots. I didn’t like that the whole reason for Miz winning the US Title seemed to be to show fans that anyone can win and someone can steal a pin.

It also set up a Miz v. R-Truth title rematch at the PPV.

- Speaking of which, it seemed like Cole and Lawler were treating fans like total idiots throughout the show. I understand explaining the fourway matches once, and telling how anything can happen. But to continue to harp on it made it seem like we’ve never seen a fourway match before.

- The main event, which was first a one-on-one match of Orton v. Sheamus and turned into a tag match with Cena and Edge added, was pretty good. It went about 20 minutes. You could tell, though, that the wrestlers were drawing out the ending, and we got the payoff when the NXT guys were shown attacking Hart on the jumboscreen.

- The Evan Bourne v. Chris Jericho match wasn’t anything special, but it helped to build Bourne and furthered Jericho’s “frustration angle.” I’m wondering how this will all play out, especially since Jericho was absent from the lineup of wrestlers who were “guarding” from NXT at the end of the show.

- Cena’s mid-show promo was typical fare. He came out, spoke in his country and western twang, then yelled a lot. But it did the job of building the NXT group as a legitimate threat.

- The Eve & Gail Kim v. Maryse & Alicia Fox match was worthless. Kim didn’t even tag into the match. But it did give the announcers a chance to tell us that the four women will be involved in a fourway title match at this Sunday’s show. Yawn.

- The Big Show/Main Event Mark v. Ted DiBiase/Virgil match was lame, but the crowd was into it. I admit, I got a kick out of Mark doing the worm, and Lawler saying, “We haven’t seen this in a while.” Really, though, the guest hosts need to go and this was just another example of it.

- Overall, this was an entertaining show, mostly thanks to the NXT cast. WWE is doing nothing to build to the pay-per-view, though, and is counting on the possibility that the NXT crew could disrupt it as a selling point.

6.7.10 WWE Raw review: Not even the great ending can save this horrible show

Monday’s WWE Raw was certainly memorable for a number of reasons. For about two hours and 50 minutes, it was the worst episode of the program I can even remember. Then something happened that took us back to a time when things were a little more unpredictable and Raw would end with something compelling to stir interest and leaving you thirsting for the next show.

Wade Barrett and the rest of the NXT season one rookies came to the ring during John Cena’s bout with CM Punk and unleashed a vicious attack on Luke Gallows, Serena, Jerry Lawler, Matt Striker, Josh Mathews, ring announcer Justin Roberts, Punk, Cena, and anyone else at ringside. They literally tore apart the ring and broke the announce table, with Cena receiving the largest beatdown.

The situation was a great way to end the show and the mission was accomplished because I’m dying to see where this is all going. It has a big time nWo feel, especially because the group attacked faces and heels. Hopefully the explanation we get is a good one because this has a lot of potential.

Many people noticed that Michael Cole was able to slip away from the attack. Perhaps it will be revealed that he was behind the whole thing. That could be interesting and a great way to get him out from behind the announce table. As we saw a few weeks ago during his faceoff with Daniel Bryan, Cole has the potential to be a strong heel manager. Perhaps Jim Ross could step in and replace Cole as Raw’s lead announcer once again, although it seems unlikely at this point.

Either way, fans are talking, and while this segment didn’t save the show, it distracted from how truly awful the large portion of Raw was.

Thoughts on the rest of this pitiful show after the jump (if I can find enough adjectives to describe how bad it was):

5.31.10 WWE Raw review

WWE delivered another pretty solid Raw this week, with the most notable development being Evan Bourne scoring the winning pinfall in a tag team match that pitted he and John Cena against Sheamus and Edge. We also saw the return of Mr. McMahon, Daniel Bryan picking up a win over The Miz, and more from the Uso’s.

- The show opened a little strangely, with Edge in the midst of beating down Evan Bourne. Michael Cole explained (not well enough, though) that Bourne had challenged Edge, which sent the Rated R Superstar into a frenzy. It all would make sense later in the show.

Edge went on to speak about Sheamus, John Cena and Randy Orton, his opponents in the Fatal 4 Way WWE Title match. Orton came out to confront Edge and eventually hit him with an RKO, then showed signs of a still injured shoulder. Later in the night, Edge slammed Orton’s shoulder in a door, knocking him out of the main event tag match of Cena and Orton v. Edge and Sheamus.

Cena picked Evan Bourne to be his new partner and the matchup was all about the high flyer. Bourne played the face in peril for the whole match, getting dominated by Edge and Sheamus before making the hot tag to Cena. After Cena hit an Attitude Adjustment on Sheamus, he tagged Bourne back in, who hit the shooting star press for the win.

Obviously it was great for Bourne to be in the ring with three main eventers and I’m interested to see what this leads to. I have a feeling Orton will still be able to compete in the Fatal 4 Way match but if he isn’t, perhaps WWE would toss Bourne in with the crowd?

More thoughts on last night’s episode of Raw after the jump:

5.24.10 WWE Raw review

Not including the absolutely horrible in-ring segment with Jon Lovitz, last night’s episode of Raw was the best in a quite a while. Bret Hart was introduced as the new general manager, R-Truth became the new United States Champion, Batista quit, and the four competitors in the Fatal 4 Way WWE Title match were announced.

The opening segment was well done, with Batista again coming off great in his promo while in a wheelchair. The introduction of Bret Hart fit in well here also, and he told Batista he could have another shot at John Cena if he beat Randy Orton to qualify for the Fatal 4 Way main event. The Animal shouted that he was in no shape to wrestle, with Hart replying that Orton wasn’t either. This set off Batista, who forfeited the match because he couldn’t compete, and then went into a crazed rant where he eventually quit the WWE.

I thought we had seen the last of Batista after his fall through the stage at Over The Limit but his sendoff on television fit in with the story.

More thoughts on the rest of the show after the jump:

5.17.10 WWE Raw review

The commercial-free (except in Canada) Raw was one of the better episodes of late but was still dragged down by a few things. The most notable of those was Bret Hart winning the United States Title.

I’m not going to complain about how it happened because the no-disqualification stipulation allowed for Hart to do no wrestling at all. The Hart Dynasty did the dirty work and The Miz tapped out to the Sharpshooter, dropping the belt to The Hitman. We pretty much knew Hart would win the title with the show taking place in Toronto but I still don’t like it and it definitely cheapens the belt. Granted, Scott Hall has a title in TNA but compared to Bret Hart, Hall looks like Rey Mysterio in the ring.

I’ve seen and heard a number of theories as to what happens next with the United States Title. My first thought was that Hart will drop the belt next week and a tournament will determine the new champion, possibly culminating at the June pay-per-view. That would help in bringing some prestige back to the title. Jason Powell of ProWrestling.net speculated that Hart may drop the belt next week in exchange for becoming the new GM of Raw.

Other people are guessing that the belt will be retired. If that is the case, it makes Hart winning it not so bad. I don’t know if that’s the route WWE will go, though, because it will leave Raw with no midcard title. We’ll see what happens next but either way you look at it, Bret Hart should not be holding a title in 2010.

More thoughts on last night’s Raw after the jump: