WWE Raw 10/31/11 Review: Critique, Thoughts, and Grade

Tonight's "Raw SuperShow' came from Atlanta, Georgia.  As always, hit up Kaleb Kelchner's blog for a rundown.  

The show was hyped for a lot of reasons.  The Muppets, The Rock's response to Cena's question, and the Punk/Henry match gave a lot to work with.  Should we see how they did? 

The Good

+ Storyline Advancement.  They did advance what they needed to do, even if it was in the first hour.  We did get the big cliffhanger out of the way.  Also the first hour plot hook with Punk was nicely done.  

+ The Rock's Video.  Despite showing some (ok...a lot) of gray, The Rock was in good form tonight.  He had some nice zings, but nothing he hasn't done before.  Overall, nice way to open the show, though it might have been better suited to the end.

+ Ziggler/Ryder.  This was actually a good match with some nice storytelling with the false finish.  Ryder got a wickedly nice pop on the first pin, and the ref actually showed some brains realizing he made a mistake.  Ryder and Ziggy have some underestimated chemistry in the ring.  Match of the night.

+ Swagger/Santino.  Alright match.  Nothing really to write home about.  Beaker giving Santino the energy drink, who spit it out was a slightly humorous bit.

+ Beaker, Christian & Sheamus segment.  Ok, I did laugh at that one.  The familial bit with Sheamus and Beaker was nicely done.  Christian was solid tonight in the heel role.

+ Air Boom/Rhodes & Barrett.   Solid tag match, but nothing really special save for the heels getting the victory.  Barrett continues his push, which does make me wonder if Bryan will reciprocate with another victory.  Few nice spots helped to make the match. 

+ Punk/Del Rio.  Del Rio one upped Punk, and Punk returned the favor.  Little things like this make feuds worth watching.  Strong storytelling for these two, which sells the match for me.  Punk is officially back in his anti-hero tweener role.  Instead of "winning" his way to a title opportunity, he choked out Del Rio until Del Rio agreed to the title shot.  Great booking for these two.

The Meh;

~ Divas Battle Royal.  Didn't they do this a few months ago?   It fulfilled the Halloween requisite of the show, but didn't really serve much a purpose.  Beth was solid on commentary, but nothing special.  Nice tease with a Natalya win possibly, and she did look strong here.

~ Cole Challenge.  I fast forwarded this segment, but apparently they ran long on the script for the evening?  Otherwise, Cole was tolerable this evening.  That's actually an improvement.

~ Punk/Henry.  Some interesting storytelling, but really not enough to do anything with it. Del Rio was booked smart to prevent Punk from winning, and there was a funny spot with feeding Ricardo to Henry.  But it was only three minutes.  Disappointing to a degree.  Too much to do, too little time.

~ The Muppets.  They just didn't come off as well as I'd hoped.  Like I mentioned, I liked the Sheamus/Beaker segment and also dug Stadler and Waldorf riffing on Miz and Cena.  The rest was simply filler.  More's the pity i suppose.

The Bad

- Miz/Cena.  This wasn't too bad a match, but it felt like Cena was going through the motions.  Truth wearing the "Scream" mask was predictable, but they didn't do enough with it.  Cena is getting better at controlling his "Super Cena" moments.

With that said, how is Awesome Truth a threat to Cena and Rock?  In all seriousness, would a pinfall here for The Miz been that inconceivable?  What a pointless waste.  They are selling this match purely on the novelty of The Rock's return without establishing that there could be a real chance that Rock and Cena could lose.  The three-hour show later this month will establish the tension between Rock and Cena, so they have one more week to get it right.

- Del Rio/Show.   I understand they need to put over Big Show as a threat to Henry, but this was just awful booking all around.  Too many rest holds, not enough variance in offense for Show, and Del Rio never felt like a threat to the Big Show.  The fact that the Champion was pinned cleanly in a non-title match without nothing on the line is just dumb.

Plenty of blame to go around for this debacle. Del Rio never focused on Big Show's back or arm that I recall, nor did Big Show actually do much other then punch a lot.  These two put on a fine match a few weeks ago. What happened?

- Show script.  Everything worth tuning into was done in the first hour.  The Rock's message, the ADR/Punk storyline, and so on was really done in the first 60 minutes.  There was no plot hook to the show and nothing really special about the second hour.  Expect a nice ratings drop from the first to the second hour.  Which is a pity because Ryder and Ziggler put on a good match.

- Lack of critical promos.  No promo work from Cena, Punk, Del Rio, Big Show, Henry, Ryder, Ziggler, Triple H, Nash, or JR.  Wow.

- PPV sell.  From the Red Brand, the only thing I care about in this PPV is the intriguing storyline between Punk and Del Rio.  The rest simply doesn't make me want to spend the money to watch it.  If I want to watch The Rock wrestle, I will simply replay Armageddon 1999.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

There is nothing sacred left in my childhood anymore.

"Should I grease up your skateboard?"

"I'm going to put you in this little thing I call the Anaconda Vice."  Line of the night.

Does Del Rio have any credibility left? 

Ziggler and Ryder really need to continue their program. 

I was half expecting a Sumo match between Vicky and Piggy tonight.

Kelchner has my full respect.  How he blogs this week in and week out is amazing to me. Particularly given the brutal episodes such as these.

CM stands for Calculating Mind.

Did Nash steal Dwayne's "Just for Men?"

Overall Grade  D/D+

A very weak show tonight.  Some angle advancement, Del Rio and Punk one upping each other, and the Ziggler/Ryder match saved this from being a complete flop.  Ultimately, the Muppets were not used to their full effect and the flow the show was completely botched.  They've had weeks to get this one ready and failed. 

I'm not overly hopeful for a good show next week either as the WWE has been off balance with Raw for a while.  Punk, Ryder, and Del Rio are the only real reasons to tune in on Monday until they revamp the product.  The Ring work was about average, though they didn't give enough time for the critical matches of the evening.  The production was alright without major fault. But the flow of the show nearly killed it.