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TUCKER LIVE AT RAW 4/7: Instant Reaction & DVR Guide to the official start of WWE's Youth Movement

Apr 8, 2014 - 12:59:34 PM
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Instant Reaction - WWE Raw 4/7
By Ben Tucker, PWTorch TV specialist


Overall Score - 9.0

Over the past four years, it seemed like WWE was on the verge of a full-fledged youth movement, but the company routinely turned back to their established stars before long. Monday's Raw felt much different than WWE's usual mediocre attempts to push forward into the future. Last night felt like a true revitalization of the company, with the debut of nearly half-a-dozen wrestlers and a big spotlight on wrestlers who are ready to break out and establish themselves as the new generation of wrestling. The Streak is dead, the old are leaving. The Youth Movement seems to finally be here in full force. And I love it.

- Daniel Bryan opening Raw was everything it should have been. The crowd was extremely receptive to Bryan, and Triple H's announcement of the title match for later was a great hook. The positive atmosphere of the segment was a much better choice to open the show than anything involving The Streak. A grand start to the event.

Verdict: Watch it.

- The Wyatt Family six-man tag was a real showcase for the top heel trio in the company, and the audience loved every minute. The action throughout was captivating and Bray's performance was particularly strong. Admittedly, he was a heel playing to a crowd, but he's also a cult leader. He sort of needs to encourage this behavior. The Wyatts getting the win was another smart move, as Bray seemed to have shaken off any potential side effects of losing to John Cena the night before. The face team was particularly bland; all three need some sort of revitalizing.

Verdict: Watch it.

- The Fandango/Rae vs. Santino/Emma match was over too fast to mean anything. The entrances were longer than the match.

Verdict: Skip it.

- For as much as I disagree with the decision for Undertaker to lose to Brock Lesnar on Sunday, I will admit that Paul Heyman's gloat-filled promo on Monday was fantastic. He helped present Lesnar as a true one of a kind talent, and his mocking of the fans was perfect. If they were going to end the Streak with Lesnar, they couldn't have followed up with anything better than this.

Verdict: Watch it.

- Randy Orton and Batista squashing the Tag Team Champions did nothing but devalue the division as a whole. It gave them a bit of credibility after losing on Sunday night, but they (mainly Orton) need character refreshing, not taking out the most credible tag team that WWE currently has.

Verdict: Skip it.

- Well, it can't all be a victory for the young guys. Rob Van Dam had a serviceable return squash, but it's nothing you haven't seen before. RVD is RVD. Just slower and pudgier now than he was in 1997.

Verdict: Skip it.

- Poor Rey Mysterio. Who in WWE is out to get him? Once again he's put in a terrible situation, this time against the foreign-beloved Wade Barrett. The match was highly entertaining, partially due to the crowd's involvement, and it was nice to see Barrett get a credible win. How much has Rey's stock fallen since 2011?

Verdict: Watch it.

- Not all debuts can be strong. This show was particularly noteworthy for the in-ring return of Wade Barrett, plus the introductions of NXT stars Paige, Adam Rose, Bo Dallas (whose sappy promo videos are hysterical), and... sigh, Alexander Rusev. He showed very little in his squash against Zack Ryder and he nearly killed the crowd. Not a great debut for the big brute.

Verdict: Skip it.

- The Ultimate Warrior segment on Raw was time-filler, but it was also fun. I mean, you didn't understand half of it, but it was largely comprehensible and a fun flashback to the past.

Verdict: Watch it.

- And now we get Paige. What a strong debut for NXT's top Diva. I honestly don't mind booking Paige to win the title on her first night on the main roster. Her finishing move was established, she was given instant credibility, there was nothing else for A.J. to do, and the live crowd loved it. Sure, Paige didn't "go on the chase," but after seven months of Daniel Bryan chasing the WWE Title, I'm more than happy to see a quick happy ending. Now let's give them 15 minutes on pay-per-view to see what they can really do.

Verdict: Watch it.

- The Cesaro segments on this program were a lot of fun to watch. Cesaro isn't the strongest promo, but he certainly has confidence, and he and Paul Heyman showed chemistry with each other instantly. This is a potentially huge opportunity for the newly dubbed "King of Swing," but the real question is how Cesaro acts from this point forward. He acts like a face, but is associated with one of the biggest heels in wrestling. How will it turn out? Who cares when you have Jack Swagger doing what Bret Hart couldn't at WrestleMania all those years ago by breaking the Andre the Giant trophy. Lots of questions here, but also lots of entertainment.

Verdict: Watch it.

- The main event segment was especially exciting due to the fear of Bryan being screwed out of the title that's been instilled in his fans. The beat down on Bryan was nicely done, and it made The Shield look like mega-stars when they came out to make the save. It was a fun, feel good evening to a highly entertaining show.

Verdict: Watch it.

In the end, Raw was a fantastic program to watch. The audience was red hot, the stories that were told were told well, and the pace was frantically fast the whole time. Even the few misses above aren't truly bad; they either ended quickly or aren't something must-see. The youth are taking over in WWE and it's a sight to behold.

Questions? Comments? Reactions? Find me on Twitter @BTuckerTorch, where I talk about wrestling and... stuff!


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