ThunderStruck: Raw 1004 Analysis

Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar come to the ring. Heyman calls out referee Scott Armstrong. Lesnar tells him he did a good job. Heyman declares Lesnar as the new king of kings and conquerer of the WWE Universe. They leave.

^Lesnar “quit” in a video after the match. Works for me. Whether he is gone or not, I could care less about him. His match with Triple H was a beatdown with little versatility. This new “fighting” Lesnar is quite boring to watch and still sounds like a teenage boy going through puberty. I’m sure Lesnar and Triple H will have a rematch before the year is over, but for now I’m glad to have the storyline off my screen.

Sin Cara, Kofi Kingston, and R-Truth defeat Cody Rhodes and the Prime Time Players in six man tag action. Sin Cara rolls up Rhodes for the win.

^I don’t like the decision to keep the belts on Kofi and Truth. Kofi and Truth should be in singles action, and more tag teams should be featured on Raw than just the few. As for Cody Rhodes and Sin Cara, I like the way this rivalry has been booked with the angle of Rhodes trying to rip Sin Cara’s mask off. Decent first match for the show.

David Otunga offers AJ legal counsel. He offers to file a lawsuit for anyone who calls her crazy. She gets angry at the word crazy and tells him he will be in a match against an opponent of her choosing. AJ then says CM Punk can choose any opponent he wants for Night of Champions pending her approval.

^This was funny. Otunga looks better clean shaven, but he’s still boring as ever. Get rid of that guy and bring up Michael McGillicutty(ya know, the guy that can actually wrestle?).

Ryback squashes two jobbers and wins by DQ when Jinder Mahal interferes. Ryback scares Mahal off when he recovers and slams the jobbers to the mat.

^Mahal is not even close to my favorite, but a legit rivalry for Ryback means no more squashes. I don’t think Mahal will actually pin Ryback or win a match, but I do think we’ll be more entertained by a somewhat competitive match than squash after squash.

Jericho and Ziggler exchange words backstage. AJ Lee walks up books them in a match. If Jerico wins, he gets Dolph’s MITB Contract. If Ziggler wins, Jericho’s contract is terminated in WWE.

^I’d like the stipulation more if it actually mattered. We all knew this was coming.

Alberto Del Rio comes out and demands a World Title match. AJ comes out and puts him in a match with Randy Orton. Orton defeats Del Rio with an assist from Sheamus. Sheamus points out when Orton’s foot is on the rope and gets Del Rio angry. ADR walks into an RKO and loses the match.

^Orton is far more interesting and a much better opponent for Sheamus than Alberto Del Rio. ADR is stale and doesn’t deserve any more World Title runs. I get tired of people calling Sheamus boring. His run with the title may not have been super exciting, but I blame that on booking more than I do Sheamus. His character and personality are actually a lot of fun to watch.

Damien Sandow defeats Brodus Clay via the rollup. Clay gets angry and gives Sandow a t-bone suplex toss across the ring.

^Good short match here. I’m pleased to see Clay get a loss to someone far superior. I feel awful that Brodus hasn’t been allowed to be a monster heel and showcase some wrestling ability, but the push that Sandow has received and the response from the WWE Universe has shown that creative made the right choice.

Shawn Michaels shows up via satellite and talks about Triple H’s career being over. He says he is proud of him and thanks him for all he has done for the WWE Universe.

^I love Shawn Michaels, but if he’s not going to wrestle and he’s just going to pop up to hype rivalries and stories, he needs to go. The US Title could’ve been defended in the time it took for Shawn to run through his speech. Move on, Shawn!

Big Show is David Otunga’s hand picked opponent and he destroys Otunga.

^I wonder what Big Show will do now that he’s out of the WWE Title scene. Perhaps a rivalry with a midcard guy needing further elevation? Otunga is still boring as ever, like I said earlier.

Zack Ryder and Kane take on the Miz and Daniel Bryan. Miz and DBry bail on one another and take off. Kane attacks Ryder and then tears up ringside in a rage. The match has no finish.

^So Kane is back to heel this week. I’m afraid next week he’ll be dressing like Zack Ryder. I’m so confused. Anyone else want to see the Miz and Daniel Bryan work some matches for the IC Title? Weird match and weird finish.

CM Punk is interviewed by Matt Striker and says he will pick John Cena as his opponent for NOC under one condition, and we will find out later on what it is.

^Heel. Punk is a heel. I’m tired of hearing anybody argue otherwise. Matt Striker is an annoying announcer, and I wish Kane hadn’t tossed Josh Mathews at Summerslam.

Kaitlyn wins the number one contender’s Divas Battle Royal.

^I’m surprised, but it will be refreshing to see Kaitlyn challenge for the Divas Title. I wonder if Layla will go heel anytime before this one is finished.

Dolph Ziggler defeats Chris Jericho using the zig zag after countering the lionsault. Jericho attacks Ziggler after the match with his briefcase and nails him with a codebreaker. Jericho waves his goodbyes after the match.

^If Jericho has to take off for awhile, I can’t think of a better sendoff than two excellent matches one night after the other. Fantastic wrestling from both these guys, and I’ll have more on this later in the week. As for Ziggler, he is on the fast track to a great World Title reign. I hope he cashes in at Night of Champions; it would be a fitting place for him to complete his climb to the top of the mountain.

CM Punk comes out and wants an apology from Jerry Lawler for his comment several weeks ago. Cena interrupts. Punk tells Cena he wants Cena to tell him that he is the best in the world. Cena refuses and tells Punk he can pick whoever he wants for his opponent. Cena walks away. Punk brings Lawler into the ring to make him apologize. Lawler apologizes, but refuses to tell Punk he is the best in the world. Punk kicks Lawler in the back of the head to close the show.

^Effective segment. Punk is very much heel. Lots of people just started to hate him because of his attack on Lawler. Has everyone forgotten how rotten Lawler used to be as a heel? The true wrestling fans will still love Punk for his in ring talent and for his ability to execute whatever gimmick he is told to portray. Cena was too nice, once again. It’s PG, but it doesn’t have to be pre school. An edgier Cena makes for far better promos, and I believe that could still be done in the PG era.

Final Thoughts: Solid show. Not terrible but not spectacular. I loved the Jericho/Ziggler match and the Orton/ADR contest, but I also enjoyed the short matches throughout the night. The overall show was really well put together. I’ll be back with more stuff later in the week. I’m not sure about the rundown yet because I’m getting married on Saturday(already married, doing a ceremony for the families). Until next time, you’ve been ThunderStruck!

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