WWE RAW Retort - Henry Schools Everyone

Just when you thought the WWE had decided to take the quiet route for the summer, the creative team stepped up their game and gave us the greatest episode of RAW in years. Normally post-WrestleMania is time for the WWE to regroup, but seems this summer they are taking things to whole new level. Okay, maybe not a new level, but a level we have not seen since the Attitude Era. RAW didn’t start with a bang, but once it got rolling, nothing was slowing down. It was great to see Punk in the ring getting in Alberto’s face, but Punk’s big moment of the night didn’t come until the end of the show.

Christian’s return made RAW all the more special

The first big shocker of the night was Christian’s return; but after Jericho had tweeted last weekend that he had found Christian, I knew his return was imminent. I just wish they had put him in the ring with someone better than Barrett. To me, this would have been the perfect opportunity to pair Zeb and Cesaro, and put Cesaro in the ring with someone who is not from the United States of America. While I did enjoy seeing William Regal in the ring, something we so rarely see, I think Christian would have been a better opponent for Cesaro here. Sadly, Wade Barrett just hasn’t been able to prove himself since his return from his elbow dislocation. The man has what it takes, but it’s not coming across to the fans.

One of the biggest mistakes of the night came when the WWE booked Sheamus to face Team Rhodes Scholars in a Handicap Match. What a slap in the face to Sandow and Rhodes, who have been working their butts off trying to get to the next level, and deserve the pushes they are not getting. Yes, they won the match, but it wasn’t easy, and that’s just bad for business and morale. Speaking of bad for business and morale, what about Jericho facing Slater? If anyone should have been in a Handicap Match, it should’ve been Jericho against 3MB. Jericho came out of a show -tealing performance at Payback, and then he’s put in this terrible match? Doesn’t make sense.

I love how the Divas were this week. AJ was snotty, sassy, right up in Stephanie’s face, and more than just a little bit crazy. That young lady has quite the career ahead of her, though I have to admit that I would love to see her face off with Trish Stratus. AJ might seemed to be tiny, but looking at the numbers, she’s only a couple inches shorter than Trish. The thought of a Triple Threat Match between Trish, Lita, and AJ makes me giddy. Yes, there are a lot of other female wrestlers who are bigger and better than those three, but something about the way the three of them work the ring really seems to mesh. I think it would be bloody beautiful. Speaking of bloody beautiful, the way Stephanie handled AJ, Kaitlyn, and the rest of the Divas really showed who the alpha female is, and I liked it. There is obviously more to come between these three.

It was really sad to see how Bryan’s match ended. While I am not a huge fan of Randy Orton, he really showed that he is a standup guy when he broke kayfabe Monday night. When the doctor got involved during the match, I thought it was a little strange. But when he came back into the middle of things and stopped the match, I was not sure if that was how it was booked. Bryan did look rather out of it, and bleary-eyed; but this is Bryan, he is a master at selling. But when Orton went over to Bryan, extended his hand, and pulled Bryan up into a hug, it was obvious that things were not as they should have been. Further, the way they all left the ringside area did not look as professional as it usually does. They did a solid job of continuing the storyline by saying that Bryan got up in Triple H‘s face, and complained about the doctor ending his match. Now we know that it was only a stinger, but I am glad the doctor intervened. That is the doctor’s job, and I would much rather have him right there in the middle of things then wait for the ref to throw up the X. It seems like a much smarter way to ensure the wrestlers safety.

The storyline of the summer has to be the power struggle backstage. From everything I have heard, Stephanie and Triple H haven’t had any real power struggles with Vince so far, but McMahon family drama always makes for great wrestling TV. Since the day Vince stepped out from behind the announcer table, we have all loved him, and loved to hate him. I’m still not sure which direction this storyline is going to take, whether it will be Stephanie, or Vince, or even Triple H who will make the heel turn, but I am sure we will be led on a roller coaster ride to find out. All three of them have been playing their roles perfectly, and it doesn’t hurt that they have such fantastic chemistry together, but I think the ticking time bomb in all of this is Vickie. She is being pulled in every direction, and already looked as though she might be ready to snap. Maybe Maddox will be collateral damage!

The Sin Cara action figure

I was a little bit annoyed at how quickly Kane‘s match ended, even though I know it was to extend The Shield’s storyline. Ambrose and Kane have had some epic matches, so it was a bummer to see this end in under two minutes. The other match that should have been good, but wasn’t, was Curtis Axel’s. The man is Mr. Perfect’s son, Larry ‘The Axe’ Hennig’s grandson, and a Paul Heyman guy. Axel is destined for greatness, but will not be reaching it when stuck in the ring with the likes of Sin Cara. Sin Cara is an accident waiting to happen, but luckily all of those accidents have happened to himself. The fact that the WWE is releasing a Sin Cara action figure that is already injured should show every one what they think of him.

Brock Lesnar was the perfect ending to the best RAW we have seen in years. The dissension between Punk and Heyman was perfectly executed, and made Heyman look needy and whiny before Punk headed to the ring. While Punk’s match with Alberto was not much to write home about, both of them played their characters to the fullest. Punk sold his happiness over the win quite well, as only a face can, but it was his reaction to Brock that made the show fantastic. Brock, even though I really don’t like him, handled himself quite well Monday night, but was overshadowed by Punk. I will admit that it looked as though Punk was having troubles not giggling after he took the F5, but knowing that Punk wanted this feud so much, I can let it go. I’m interested in seeing how these two men work the ring, and the storyline, together. We all know Heyman will have a huge role in all of this going forward, but only time will tell exactly how.

Mark Henry was the best part of RAW

While I would normally end with the end of the show, I have decided to save the best for last. I never thought that I would be calling Mark Henry the best part of an episode of RAW. I have been known for quite a while as a Mark Henry hater; but Monday night, Henry brought me back over to the dark side. Honestly, until the past couple years, I had been a huge Mark Henry fan. It had only been his most recent antics, and refusal to return to the WWE unless he got a big title reign, that really upset me. Take that and add in the fact that he really hadn’t been putting his heart, or even much of himself, into his work. He might have been believing he was, but to the fans he appeared to be phoning it in. It was sad to see that such a mighty man had fallen so far. But then this past Monday, Henry surprised us all. The man broke out his family, the waterworks, and every little bit of the motion he had to sell us on his retirement. There were a few moments that I did think that he was actually retiring, mostly when he was talking about his daughter, and the way he reacted the first time Cena handed him the WWE Title belt. The man looked happy, sad, and very much torn, and sold every little bit of it. Conveniently Mark Henry’s finisher starts with a hug, and that is the moment that Henry proved he still has what it takes.