WWE RAW
MAY 16, 2011
SAN ANTONIO, TEX

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-Why exactly was Alex Riley drafted to Smackdown if he's going to appear weekly on Raw and not on Smackdown? I know Miz said his contract to be his assistant overrides his being drafted to Smackdown, but what was the motivation for the draft move in the first place?

-Opening segment was phoned in. More Riley than Miz on the mic, and John Cena dipping into his Jonas Brother and My Little Pony joke bag. Eh.

-C.M. Punk beating Kofi Kingston in 4:00 further cements that Kingston is seen as an upper mid-carder right now by management and there's no room on the babyface depth chart for him to even tease a main event anytime soon.

-It's not a good sign when Miz is shown chatting Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler and Ziggler looks like a real estate agent more than a wrestler. A high-end real estate agent, but still.

-After watching the trailer for "That's What I Am" I was waiting for the fat girl to show up for Michael Cole to make fun of, like he did during the Khali Kiss Cam during Smackdown. It's not so bad that a heel makes fun of fat people. but that no one else (Josh Mathews or Booker T) spoke up and said Cole was being an ass.

-R-Truth is the surprise of the season. Another strong heel performance from him on the mic and in his body language and demeanor. Rey vs. Truth is a good feud for Raw.

-What is with WWE's obsession with mentioning the X Games in the same breath as the Super Bowl, World Series, and other major sporting events? It's so arcane to include that.

-You can't accuse of WWE of not playing off of real-life by having Cole say nobody remembers Jack Swagger was a World Champion.

-Big Show saying the non-title loss to Nexus doesn't mean anything doesn't really help build up the PPV title match.

-When Cena crossed paths with Zack Ryder, how many viewers wonder what Zack is doing backstage in wrestling trunks if he never actually wrestles on Raw.

-They essentially turn Swagger babyface by having him turn on Cole, then have Swagger attack the no. 1 babyface in the company 45 minutes later? I don't get it.

-The Cena vs. Swagger match was fine, but felt transitional since the obvious focus was headed toward Miz-Cena.

-The final angle was solid, with Miz giving a Chris Jericho-like low-voice, intense promo about what weapons or tactics he could use to get Cena to quit. Good final short hard-sell by Cena giving his fans a reason to be excited to see him make Miz quit.

-Overall, there was a definite focus on there being a PPV this Sunday with hype for the four top matches from the Raw brand. Solid show, but we're definitely past the special season and special episodes. The three hour Raws coming up could water things down or, with the right theme or format, amp things up again.

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