August 13, 2012|By Adam Testa
- Fans asking for longer divas matches got what they wanted, as Divas Champion Layla and Kaitlyn defeated Beth Phoenix and Eve. The match wasn't extraordinarily long, but compared to typical divas matches, it was an improvement. The action, while sloppy at spots, wasn't all that bad either.
- Heath Slater squash matches were entertaining when he was getting destroyed by legends of the past. When he's losing to someone like R-Truth, it just doesn't have that spark. At least Titus O'Neil and Darren Young got some post-AW heat by beating down Truth after the match.
- Santino Marella will defend the United States Championship against Antonio Cesaro on the SummerSlam pre-show. This more than likely means that Marella will retain, which will be disappointing. WWE needs to pull the trigger on Cesaro if they hope to make him a true star.
- Pauly D tweeting during the show did nothing to get me more invested in Raw or SummerSlam. Then again, I'm not the target demographic for his involvement, which is aimed at getting casual viewers and his followers to tune in.
- JTG's controversial Twitters comments earned him a spot on the show. Unfortunately, he found himself facing Ryback. Thanks for coming, JTG.
Match Rundown
Big Show d. CM Punk by disqualification
Ryback d. JTG
R-Truth d. Heath Slater
Sin Cara d. Tensai
Dolph Ziggler d. Chris Jericho and The Miz
Kaitlyn and Layla d. Beth Phoenix and Eve
John Cena and CM Punk d. Daniel Bryan and Big Show
Damien Sandow d. Christian
My Take
Some people on social media were blasting this week's Raw to shreds, but I don't think it was anywhere near that bad. The triple threat match and tag matches were worthwhile viewing, many of the other matches served their purposes and nothing stood out as exceptionally bad. Yes, there were questionable decisions, but I think the biggest issue with the show continues to be the issue of trying to find three hours of worthwhile and valuable content. Thirty minutes of Lesnar, Triple H and Michaels was a bit excessive, to say the least. SummerSlam seems to be shaping up like a solid show, and I'm saddened that I won't be able to watch it.
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 from 8-10 EST every Thursday on Monster Radio 1150 AM in Southern Illinois and streaming worldwide on wggh.net.
