WWE RAW Review for 5/9/11 (The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio)

What's up, ladies and gentlemen? My name is Eric Kanes and I am bringing you this week's edition of The RAW Review which has become the most electrifying RAW Review on the net.

And now, from Knoxville, Tennessee this is the RAW Review.

—The show started with Alberto Del Rio coming out to say that he will still be the champion because destiny can be delayed. I believe this is the third time that his destiny has been delayed.

Rey Mysterio interrupted, saying that Del Rio's destiny is to be Ricardo Rodriguez's personal ring announcer. The Miz came out and said that he should be the No. 1 contender and blamed last week's loss on Alex Riley. He then told Del Rio and Mysterio to fight in a Taco Bell parking lot.

Finally, since everybody gets a title shot, R-Truth came out, still to no music. He should have a song by next week. I heard it via email. It's called "Here Comes The Truth" and it's basically a rock song with no words and with his catchphrases being said in the background.

Truth talked about taking Morrison out. Morrison is legitimately injured for those wondering. Truth told the crowd to not interrupt an angry black man when he's talking and called Alberto Del Rio a Mexican fence hopper.

The segment ended with the GM buzzing in and announcing The Miz vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. a third person in a No. 1 Contender's Triple Threat match later on. The third person was revealed to be Rey Mysterio, thus setting up his feud with Truth, who glared at him. Truth left the ring making angry facial expressions and talking to himself.

I've already said it a thousand times but I'll say it again. I'm absolutely loving R-Truth as a heel right now. With all of the generic cocky heels on RAW, Truth really stands out with his character. He also stands out because he's the only "edgy" character among all of the toned down PG characters.

After Truth left, a brawl broke out with Mysterio throwing the other two out of the ring. Ricardo Rodriguez also hit a dropkick on Alex Riley that would put Eve to shame. Haha, I did not see that one coming.

—The Bella Twins vs. Kelly Kelly and Eve was your generic diva's match that followed the basic formula. It's appalling that these four are used when there are so many talented women's wrestlers on RAW. I can't wait until they have Kharma, Gail Kim and Beth Phoenix competing in matches.

—This week, we got treated to another five-star technical clinic between Kane and Mason Ryan.

—Mason Ryan needs to go easy on his facial expressions. He's trying to look intimidating but he ends up making monstrous faces and trembling as if he's constipated. Looking like a clown is the last thing he needs. Reason No. 486 why Mason Ryan is nothing like Batista.

—I just don't get the way that CM Punk and The New Nexus are booked. The Corre got fed to Kane and Big Show and now these guys are getting fed to them as well. Instead of making a new faction every month and splitting it up, why not commit to actually booking one faction properly?

—The "new and improved" Dolph Ziggler looks extremely generic but I don't think that's the problem. First of all, the reason they had him cut his hair was strictly a business move. It's the same reason some wrestlers grow a beard for a couple months and then shave it. The more often a wrestler changes his look, the more often Mattel can make a new figure for him.

As for Ziggler's haircut, everyone can now see exactly what I was talking about for months. Without his hair, he's no longer "the next Mr. Perfect" and he's kind of just lost in the shuffle. If Ziggler's only redeeming quality was his hair, then that really says a lot.

Did a hair cut affect CM Punk? Did a hair cut affect Kurt Angle? Did a hair cut affect Chris Jericho? All I'm saying is that if Ziggler can't get over it because he has short hair, he likely wouldn't have achieved any more with long hair.

—I'm glad they showed the "SmackDown Rebound" on RAW. It makes sense to use the top show to promote the lesser watched show. I'm really looking forward to SmackDown this Friday to see where the angle with Orton and Christian goes.

—Backstage, we saw R-Truth talking to Scott Stanford about "Little Ronnie." A lot of people were confused by this. Good. He's doing a great job at acting crazy.

—John Cena was shown talking to Zack Ryder backstage. John Cena then walked off and Zack Ryder fist pumped through the whole thing. The Internet instantly blew up. Push this man!

—The Miz talked with Alex Riley backstage. Wait...if Alex Riley works for The Miz and not WWE, how could he have gotten drafted to SmackDown? And if he's on SmackDown, why is he allowed to just show up on RAW? My head hurts from thinking.

—Alright, Alex Riley's in a match on RAW? That's too much. He should stop getting booked in matches against John Cena. Not only can you call just about every move but he's not that good in the ring either. It's really just a waste of time.

—Haha John Cena locked in the STF on Riley's left leg yet Riley sold the pain on his right leg.

—Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler again? I can just smell the buyrates already.

—I can't believe that this program is still going on. They're losing nearly 200,000 viewers every week and yet they still get more TV time than a guy like CM Punk? Makes no sense.

—So if Michael Cole beats Jerry Lawler at Over the Limit, Jerry Lawler will personally induct Michael Cole into the Hall of Fame. Good to know that Lawler is the one who gets to decide who goes in.

—Kofi Kingston and Jack Swagger had a match that lasted about eight minutes. They've had better matches before. There's nothing really worth noting here other than the fact that Jerry Lawler came back out and distracted Swagger, allowing Kofi to get the win. Lawler then grabbed Cole by the tie, smashing his face into the Cole Mine and the announcers did their weekly switch. Thrilling.

—There was a lot of BS in the second hour of RAW but I have to say that the triple threat match really saved the show. It was probably the best RAW TV main event of the year.

These three guys really worked their asses off for 15 straight minutes. Rey Mysterio was going for the win after hitting Del Rio with a 619 but Alex Riley pulled Del Rio out of the ring. This allowed Miz to roll Rey Mysterio up and steal the win.

John Cena came out and announced that his match with The Miz at Over the Limit would be an "I Quit" match. Rey Mysterio was shown in the ring one more time as R-Truth ran out and attacked him, hitting his finisher on him.


Final Thoughts

This RAW had some bad stuff but a lot of good stuff too. Therefore, my final rating will have to be a 6.5/10. I think that's fair.

The opening segment with R-Truth talking down Del Rio, Miz and Mysterio was fantastic. The 15 minute triple threat match was extremely fun to watch as well and really saved the show.

I have to say that I also love the direction that things are headed. R-Truth seems like he will be feuding with Mysterio for the near future. In my draft review, when Mysterio was drafted to RAW, I said that this needed to happen. It's a bit rushed due to Morrison's unforeseen injury but I'm glad that it's happening nonetheless. Mysterio is a lot more popular than Morrison, so a feud with Truth could really get Truth over as a heel.

The one thing that I'm praying for, though, is that the writers don't start feeding Truth lines. He's doing a great job on his own right now and his character is one of the few that I'm genuinely interested in at the moment. I hope the writers realize that he's good enough to come up with his own material.

As for the "I Quit" match, it's predictable but what can you do? There's only two weeks until the PPV so you can't just throw Truth or Del Rio in there and rush it. It'll probably be John Cena vs. R-Truth at the next two PPVs and the big John Cena vs. Del Rio match will take place at SummerSlam.

My complaints about RAW?

End the Michael Cole vs. Jerry Lawler feud. It started out great but it has grown way too stale. Stop putting Alex Riley into high profile matches. There's no need for it. And bah gawd, don't even think about splitting CM Punk and Mason Ryan up. Ryan is still waaaay too green at the moment to make it on his own. Give it time. Maybe if The New Nexus was a credible faction, Ryan's face turn would actually mean something. Right now, they're playing with fire.

Anyway, that's all for today, folks. I will be right back here this Saturday with my weekly review of SmackDown entitled "Smack Talk" but until then, I'm out!

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