RAW/ECW Comments, Week Of August 4th

RAW:

I had been impressed with RAW before last week - they were finally pushing some new guys up the roster, and some fresh storylines were coming to television - CM Punk as champion is a breath of fresh air, the Beth Phoenix/Santino romance is enternatining, Cryme Tyme finally got a much deserved push, and I once again became interested in Kane's character.

But these last few weeks have, at least in my mind, slowly chipped away at what they had built.

1. CM Punk could have been built up as a true main eventer, but for the time being he's second rank to Cena and Batista - and having him get such a harsh beating from a returning William Regal last week surely did not help the cause.

2. Cryme Tyme has basically disappeared off television for the last two weeks. Don't know where they've gone, but they're no longer associated w/Cena anymore. The CTC has fizzled. Sad, because these guys are very talented and have a great gimmick; and I'd love to see a more solid tag team division. Giving the titles to Cena and Batista, which we all saw coming a mile away (talk about old storylines), removed any credibility that may have been left in the division.

3. I loved the first week where Kane came out and did the whole is he alive or dead thing, and came out with the bag. But it's getting old very fast. Hopefully the Adamle Original segment will move this along next week; although chances are we'll just see Adamle chokeslammed, which is not unappreciated.

Other than that, there isn't much I can say for Raw - I'm not a fan of either Cena or Batista - sure they both have muscles and power, but I've seen every move they have in their playbooks. They simply are not enjoyable to watch in the ring. The whole Jericho/HBK storyline feels forced and overworked. It just doesn't feel natural to me, just some really bad acting. And Lance Cade doesn't help things either - the guy has no charisma, at least not that he's showing, and his wrestling chops have yet to impress even though he's been around the WWE for a while. Oh, and even after so many years, I still deplore calling it 'the WWE' - 'the World Wrestling Entertainment' makes no sense english-wise. I still miss my World Wrestling Federation. What else...Adamle I don't really care for, but we have no say in that - the guy's under contract, and was doing a terrible job as a commentator, so they moved him to GM. Let's hope he can get used to his new post in the next few weeks. Lastly, the women's division - honestly if you want to watch women's wrestling, turn on TNA on Thursday nights - that being the only reason that organization is worth watching. I'm not saying the women of the WWE are talentless, but their matches are short and the wrestling is atrocious. Beth Phoenix is the only saving grace right now for the women of Raw, but even her matches are pretty bad, especially watching her put over Kelly Kelly for a couple of weeks.

ECW:

What can I say? We all know the brand is not ECW, nor ECW Lite - if you want old style ECW from a modern era, pop in your DVD of One Night Stand 2005. The ECW now is more like the WWE farm system in a way, building up younger stars. If it actually executed that well, it might be enjoyable, but that's not the case.

Case in point - the 'new talent initiative' is horribly done. Everyone who's come in, with the exception of Evan Bourne, is completely lackluster. Braden Walker was great in TNA as Chris Harris - he had a phenomenal hardcore match against James Storm on an edition of impact about a year ago. But he had no gimmick or anything coming in, his music is generic and his tights are extremely bland. I know Vince needs to create his own Intellectual Property, and rightfully so, but there's no reason he couldn't have brought in Chris Harris/Braden Walker with a bit more oomph. And Ricky Ortiz - aside from the afro and some slightly funky music, he's got nothing going for him. Unless you've watched some OVW episodes, this guy's even more nameless than Braden Walker. The saving grace is Matt Sydal/Evan Bourne. Even though he's just again, another guy with no character, his wrestling ability is such that he's a joy to watch in the ring. The other two have some punches and clotheslines, but that's it. If you're bringing in new talent, there has to be a buildup; they can't just be thrown onto television with no objective.

What else...Armando - liked him so much better as a manager; his wrestling style is boring. Dirt Sheet was entertaining, don't think I could watch the Conan-style gag again, but it worked for one week. Maybe there's something there.

Those are my rants for this week - Honestly I shouldn't even be wasting my time w/ECW, and rarely bother watching Smackdown. Both shows are horribly presented, and feel more like something from the early 90's - see 'The' Brian Kendrick as an example.