WWE RAW Review for 4/11/11 (Thoughts on Edge Announcing His Retirement)

What's up, ladies and gentlemen? My name is Eric Kanes and you are currently reading the most electrifying RAW Review on the net.

Before we move on, if you've been enjoying my reviews or if this is your first time and you enjoy this review, make sure to add me on Facebook. It is a new account that I have opened up just for wrestling-related stuff and I will use it to plug future columns and give my thoughts on various wrestling news throughout the week.

And now, from Bridgeport, Connecticut, this is the RAW Review.

-After Michael Cole got into his Cole Mine, the show kicked off with John Cena saying that his match against The Rock will be for the WWE title. He was interrupted by Randy Orton, who said that he should get a title match against The Miz, because he actually won at WrestleMania. John Morrison came out next, looking like he's homeless. I guess he was so busy b*tching to management that he forgot to wash his hair. He mumbled through some lines about how he should be the No. 1 contender.

Cue Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler with Vickie claiming that she should be the No. 1 contender because she pinned Morrison. Finally, R-Truth decided to join the fracas by saying that he deserves the No. 1 contender sport, because he's never gotten a shot before.

And so, the gauntlet match for later on in the night was made by the GM who types really fast. He got done typing right as R-Truth finished talking. This guy is like some sort of wizard! Anyway, this was a nice way to start the show. The end result was even better, but we'll get to that soon enough.

-An Awesome Kong video package aired, where she flicked a head off a doll. I'm looking forward to her debut. She's exactly what the diva's division needs.

-I wonder what kind of ridiculous name Kong will have. Lakisha Wilkins? Kia McDookie? Michelle Henry? You know that last one's coming sooner or later!

-After watching the Brie Bella/Eve match, I can't wait for Kong to debut. The one-legged dropkick to Nikki in the corner was brutal. If these are the staples of the diva's division, then that division desperately needs some change.

-Sin Cara is fantastic in the ring. Some people are bashing him for botching the final move, but you have to realize how difficult it is to pull something like that off. The move came off looking terrific, so I've got no complaints there. The one thing that Sin Cara needs to change is his entrance. It looks easy to botch. A better idea would be to have him catapulted up in the air from under the stage, similar to Rey Mysterio during the beginning of his WWE run. It looks just as good, but it's a lot easier to pull off.

-Santino, Daniel Bryan, Evan Bourne, and Mark Henry teaming up to challenge The Corre was pretty random. What are The Corre doing on RAW anyway? Last week, they came out during Cena and Rock's promo for no reason and this week, they came out to the ring to have a conversation with each other. I still think they might be lost.

-Jerry Lawler vs. Jack Swagger was unintentionally hilarious, with JR and Michael Cole standing at ringside and yelling directions. Lawler won by rolling up Swagger after Michael Cole got on the apron but JR pulled him off.

Lawler won the right to face Michael Cole at Extreme Rules and pick the stipulation so he went with a tag team match–Jerry Lawler & JR vs. Michael Cole & Jack Swagger. Good call by whoever booked this. Michael Cole did an incredible job building up his match with Jerry Lawler at WrestleMania and I'm sure he'll do the same here. However, this time the match won't be as bad because Lawler and Swagger can work the majority of it, with Cole eventually tagging in to either get the fall or take the fall. It's smart booking.

-JR joined Jerry Lawler & Josh Matthews on commentary. I took a victory lap for that. I still don't understand how JR is too Southern to be a WWE commentator while Booker T isn't.

-Up next was a very emotional moment as Edge came out with a major announcement. He said that a lot of people think WWE doesn't hurt and he wishes that was true but it isn't. He talked about his neck injury eight years ago and how he knew that he was wrestling on borrowed time and that he was starting to lose feeling in his arms. He talked about Christian, his WrestleMania match with The Undertaker and said that he's glad he had a Live Sex Celebration with Lita rather than Vickie Guerrero. To end it, he said that if he could do it all over again, going through all the surgeries and restless nights, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

Wow, this segment was shocking, especially considering that he just had a recent interview where he said that he still has five years left in him. However, it had to be done because of his injuries. Like an article on WWE.com stated, he could have been paralyzed or even killed if he further injured his neck. It's not worth it.

I am lucky enough to say that I witnessed Edge's entire career from start to finish and what a career it's been. Edge's dream was always to become a wrestler, but he didn't just become a wrestler. He became one of the all-time greats. From King of the Ring to Money in the Bank to having more championship reigns than anybody else, to providing some of the most memorable spots in years, Edge did it all. I can sit here all day and talk about the things that he's accomplished, but my words don't do this man's career justice. All I have to say is thank you, Edge.

A lot of people are going to be asking whether or not this is a work. Obviously, it is not. It would make no sense for him to to retire out of the blue storyline-wise, especially when he has a huge match and feud scheduled. However, WWE should capitalize on this with a Christian/Del Rio program. They could go the same route as Mysterio/Orton in 2006 with Christian eventually winning the title for Edge.

Is this the last we've seen of Edge in WWE? I don't think so. Give it time. He might eventually get a different role, such as general manager or commentator. Until then, I'll miss Alter Bridge blasting through the arena every week and Tony Chimel's infamous "Rated R SOOOOOOOperstar."

-Back to the show. The opening match in the gauntlet was Dolph Ziggler vs. Randy Orton. After a couple minutes, the New Nexus ran in and distracted Orton, allowing Ziggler to get the pin. They proceeded to beat him up afterwards. Bah gawd! Why bring these guys back up? I don't think they're any readier for the main roster now than they were a month ago. I guess this is just the start of that Genesis of McGillicutty we've been waiting for. Watch out!

-R-Truth vs. Dolph Ziggler is where the match really began for me. After a couple of minutes, R-Truth defeated Dolph Ziggler with a new finisher similar to Shelton Benjamin's Paydirt and then pinned John Morrison after the same finisher. As John Cena stormed down the ramp, I'm sure we all thought that he would walk away with the victory. However, after a fantastic seven minutes of back-and-forth action with John Cena, The Miz and Alex Riley attacked both Cena and Truth causing the Double DQ. The GM buzzed in and announced that the match at Extreme Rules will be a triple threat with The Miz vs. John Cena vs. R-Truth.

This is the moment that I have been waiting for for quite some time. I don't know whether R-Truth is taking John Morrison's spot for the triple threat match but if he is, so be it. For those of you that don't know, R-Truth is a good friend of mine. I'm glad that he's finally getting his shot. He did an amazing job when he was NWA Heavyweight Champion. His problem right now is that he's stuck with a lame gimmick. He's a rapper yet he's only allowed to rap one song and it doesn't help that most of his lines are fed to him by WWE writers. Apparently, they're all gangsters who know how a "thug" would talk.

A lot of people think that the only reason Truth is involved in this match is for Miz to get a clean victory without hurting Cena's momentum. It could be one of the reasons, but there could be more to it. Cena is at a point in his career where a clean loss would not hurt him at all. With that said, this could be a tryout for Truth. WWE has wanted to push him on several occasions, such as Survivor Series last year, but it's just never been the right time. The IWC has already warmed up to him a little after his impressive showing last night. If he does well, this could be a sign of things to come.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this show gets a solid rating of an 8/10 from me. We got two matches set for Extreme Rules, Sin Cara's impressive in-ring debut, a 30-minute main event and, of course, Edge's touching retirement speech. This show is ranked slightly below the 2/14 and 3/28 RAWs (with The Rock) which scored a 9/10, but this was a surprisingly good show nonetheless.

With everything going on on RAW, I am very interested in seeing the fallout.

I will be right back here this Saturday with my review of SmackDown, entitled "Smack Talk," but until then, I'm out!