June 11, 2012|By Adam Testa
** For some reason, I find myself in 2012 typing that Vader defeated Heath Slater in a glorified squash match. On the one hand, it was nice to see a different legend than the usual suspects back for a special Raw. On the other hand, this match showcased everything wrong with wrestling fans who chanted "You've still got it" without really seeing much of note from Vader. This wasn't a huge waste of time, and it was actually a little fun, but luckily it was kept short.
** Sin Cara continued to look good in defeating opponents in short matches, this time Curt Hawkins. Cara has really improved his abilities to work in a WWE ring. Hopefully he's proved himself capable and will be allowed to do something more significant in the near future.
** Ryback crushed two more jobbers. The difference this time was that they actually came out through the curtain. And they had entertaining names. Outside of that, it was the same thing we've seen for weeks.
** The in-ring promo with WWE Champion CM Punk, Kane and AJ was good, but it may have slightly overstayed its welcome. All four of them know their roles and play them well, but this just seemed to be going on for a long time.
** Tensai's post-match beatdown of Sakamoto seemed odd. That character had never really been developed to the point where the fans care for him. This just seemed like a cheap way of way getting heat on Tensai, and it did very little to actually accomplish that goal.
** Big Show delivered a WMD to R-Truth during a backstage segment, presumably to write the tag team champion off TV while he's reportedly injured. It's a shame, as R-Truth and Kingston were beginning to hit their stride as tag champs and helping bring some recognition back to those belts.
Match Rundown
Sheamus d. Tensai
Beth Phoenix and Ricardo Rodriguez d. Layla and Santino Marella
Dolph Ziggler d. Christian, Jack Swagger and The Great Khali
Ryback d. Rutherford Hayes and Willard Fillmore
Big Show d. Kofi Kingston in a cage match
Sin Cara d. Curt Hawkins
Vader d. Heath Slater
CM Punk and AJ d. Daniel Bryan and Kane
My Take
Tonight's Raw was actually a good outing, for the most part. As noted in the intro, I felt the McMahon segments fell flat and were the low points of the show. But there were several good matches and storyline progressions to make this show worthwhile. The three hours seemed to fly by, and the show was built in a way that it didn't drag. This hopefully restores some faith in people that there may be a glimmer of hope in a permanent three-hour expansion, but for now, it's a waiting game.
Ring Posts’ Adam Testa has teamed up with My 1-2-3 Cents and All American Pro Wrestling to bring you From the Rafters Radio, a weekly pro wrestling talk radio show airing on Monster Radio 1150 AM in Southern Illinois and streaming worldwide on wggh.net.
