July 24, 2012|By Arda Ocal
The last opponent for Heath Slater turned out to be Lita, who hired the APA (Bradshaw and Faarooq) as protection. All the previous legends Slater faced forced him back into the ring to face the music, which was swift. Lita looked to be in great shape and appeared to be having a great time. It will be interesting to see what comes next for Slater, who has been prominent throughout this whole legend returns scenario.
Kane and Undertaker cleaned house on Jinder Mahal, Tyler Reks/Curt Hawkins, Hunico/Camacho and Drew McIntyre. As I mentioned before, it was compelling and a welcome surprise to see a superstar like Undertaker share a ring with younger talent. No matter what the situation is and the outcome, this makes members of the WWE Universe say their names and it can be built upon.
In the main event John Cena won the bout by DQ after the Big Show interfered, making Cena the first man to not claim the WWE title upon cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase (despite not losing his match). One big hook for Raw 1,001 is CM Punk’s first words after that iconic last image of Raw 1,000. I compare his blank stare in the ring to Shawn Michaels after he superkicked Hulk Hogan to set up their match at Summerslam 2005.
One big complaint among the WWE Universe is the absence of Stone Cold Steve Austin, who was shown in retrospective videos, particularly his rivalry with Mr. McMahon. I understand the concerns, however I wonder with the way Raw unfolded and how jam packed it was, whether it would have been impactful. Would he have been welcomed with open arms? Yes. Was Raw terrific as it was? Yes. That being said, I do look forward to the day Stone Cold returns to my TV screen in WWE (although I hear good things about his new show "Redneck Island").
Overall, there are many compelling items leading us to Raw 1,001, and I remain optimistic about the three-hour era of Raw. Let’s see what I say in two-to-three weeks.
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View his video interviews with WWE Superstars past and present.
