By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

KELLER'S WWE RAW TAKE
MAY 14, 2012
PITTSBURGH, PA.
LIVE ON USA NETWORK

-It was nice of Triple H to actually sell his arm injury on Raw. I suppose we shouldn't feel anything is a sure thing anymore when it comes to WWE bothering to sell anything since, you know, “everybody knows it's a work” anyway, so why bother?

-Quotebook – Paul Heyman to Triple H: “What I don't get is you bring a fighter into an entertainment company and you don't like it when he wants to fight?”

-Triple H did a nice enough job countering Brock's claim that he was bringing legitimacy back to WWE when Triple H cited that the night before he battled Undertaker in front of the largest number of people to ever see WrestleMania. He said the last thing he was thinking is that he needed to be legit. Then Heyman goes and refers to WWE as an “entertainment company.” I suppose it is in the name of the company, but like the PG rating, it's the last thing they should refer to on air if their goal is to draw people into the point of all of this – which is wrestlers battling for titles and pride (as opposed to “entertaining fans in fake fights”).

-Quotebook – Paul Heyman to Triple H: “Brock Lesnar expected a fight and what did he get? He got a sniveling, coniving corporate sycophant that has not lived up to the hype that has surrounded him for all of these years.”

-Heyman's delivery was really strong. He is perfectly suited for this role as a lawsuit threatening suit wearing business representative/agent.

-I'm not sure how to evaluate Triple H casting Brock Lesnar not only once again as a “naive farm boy from Minneapolis” (there aren't farms in Minneapolis; he meant Minnesota, I assume), but also saying he has been hurt worse. “Trust me, I've had worse done to me,” he said. Why downplay Brock as a physical threat? Isn't that pretty much the main selling point of Brock? Why undercut that if you're trying to sell PPV buys and tickets? At least he called him a “300 pound ass kicker” a minute later.

-There also seems to be risk in telling the story Triple H told of Lesnar running away from WWE when things got tough, then running away from UFC when things got tough, only to run into a tougher John Cena than he expected. Wouldn't it make Brock seem like a bigger star if they portrayed him as someone who did all there was to do in UFC in record time, then returned home to WWE to try to prove he still had what it took to be the best in WWE? Wouldn't Cena's win over Lesnar mean more if Lesnar weren't portrayed as a “naive farm boy” and a guy who runs away in a tough fight. I know they want to make him a heel and they don't want him to be cheered, but there's a way to do that without completely undermining his rep as a bad-ass legit tough guy.

-Quotebook – Jerry Lawler: “I wish I could buy Cody Rhodes for what he is worth and then sell him for what he thinks he's worth.”

-The opening tag match was an odd mix. Maybe it was a test to see if Cody Rhodes looked credible in the ring with C.M. Punk as a future challenger for the WWE Title, which I talked about being possible in last night's VIP Keller Hotline audio report. But first things first... the finish helped build the Punk-Daniel Bryan match at Over the Limit. I still don't think WWE should have named a PPV that reminds people of credit card debt, but that's another story. Why not change the name of the June PPV to “Totally Broke” or “You Should Pay Off Your College Loan Before Buying This”?

-WWE's heavy pushing of John Cena's charitable work is interesting. Usually they're lower profile about this type of thing, or they at least “pick their spots” deliberately to shine a spotlight on it. It might be about defining the good side of WWE in the face of an upcoming Linda McMahon campaign for U.S. Congress or an anticpation of some potential negative p.r. from the Cena divorce. It's great he does what he does and seems truly sincere and dedicated to it, and obviously it's touching to see the kids' reactions to Cena visiting them. The demands on his time must be incredible even without the Make-a-Wish interactions with kids.

-No shock to see WWE tout the ratings strength last week relative to other shows on cable, as they showed a graphic that more people watched Raw than MLB in ESPN, NBA on TNT, and NHL playoffs on NBC Sports Network. It's good, if for no other reason than to counter the belief that “wrestling was really hot in the late '90s but nobody watches anymore.” I suspect their 11 percent DVR viewership boost is bigger than some of those other sporting events that are more geared toward live consumption by passionate fans to avoid spoilers.

-The storyline with Big Show being demeaned seems largely counter productive to Big Show being seen as a big star. Sure, it creates sympathy and Eve and John Laurinaitis certainly come across as heelish in the way they're treating him, but Show seems so emasculated by this storyline. The idea that Show has the only job he's qualified for and now he has to kiss up to evil management doesn't seem like the best way to build him as a star. I can't even imagine Andre the Giant or Abdullah the Butcher or Bruiser Brody being portrayed this way. Heck, I can't even imagine Hillbilly Jim or Uncle Elmer being part of such an emasculating storyline. They must believe in it, though, as they put it in the key slot at the top of the second hour.

-Kane didn't so much as chokeslam Big Show as he stopped Show's upper body momentum while his legs kept moving, sending Show falling to the mat. I didn't expect Kane to actually lift Show, of course.

-When Laurinaitis demanded Show apologize to him after costing him his match against Kane, I was kinda hoping Show would attack him and force a change of plans on Sunday. But Show chose to be the talkative tearful giant and not the vengeful prideful giant. By the time the segment was done, Show got to tug at viewers' heart strings but he also didn't have a ton of dignity or credibility left. If this goes somewhere that transforms him into a more marketable act, fair enough, I'll give credit then, but for now it seems pretty demeaning and done more to give Laurinaitis extra heel heat and give Show a chance to show his acting range.

-I haven't seen a giant wrestler sob like that since Baron Von Raschke beat Big John Studd at the St. Paul Civic Center in a loser leaves town match. Studd walked right past me after he lost sobbing on his way to the back.

-The acts aren't identical, but given his shaky mic work so far, I'd send Brodus Clay to videos of the late Flyboy Rocco Rock of ECW's Public Enemy fame. He had a happy-go-lucky persona that danced, but then he could just hit a switch and suddenly make you believe he was street tough and ruthless. Clay needs that edge to have any chance of being something other than the Hillbilly Jim or Bastion Booger of this generation.

-I'm really liking the concept of A.W. (All-World Productions) giving a boost to some lost-in-the-shuffle acts like Primo & Epico and Mason Ryan. It's along the lines of The Dangerous Alliance (Paul Heyman's group) or Devastation Incorporated (Scandar Akbar's group), among others. It's a proven tool in pro wrestling history that WWE hasn't utilized lately – a manager leading a group of wrestlers who individually wouldn't be nearly as relevant without the faction aspect.

-Denny's Diner seems like a good sponsor for Raw.

-WWE needs to get out of the habit of hanging with a scene well past when the person in the camera can hold their emotion. After C.M. Punk called A.J. unstable and walked away, the director stayed on A.J. for an uncomfortably long time, as if we needed all that time to figure out what her emotions were. In reality, it's just distracting because we end up wondering why she's just lingering there trying to hold the same facial expression well beyond what seems natural. They've been better about this lately than five or ten years ago, but in this case they could have cut away two seconds sooner and avoided that distracting discomfort at the end.

-Oh no! Sheamus went back to “WWE bad math” by saying on commentary during the main event “the odds are 25 percent for each of us.” So he doesn't think he's even one percent better than Orton, Alberto Del Rio, or Chris Jericho? Not even one percent better?!

-Quotebook – Sheamus to Michael Cole: “You're useless.”

-The big hook to tune into Smackdown was Cole saying Del Rio isn't on Raw, but will be exclusively on Smackdown this week? A few hours before Raw goes on the air they get news of Smackdown's rating dropping to one of the lowest of the year and they can't come up with a better, more memorable hook for Friday's show?

-Well, that's better. A late Twitter announcement by Eve revealed an Orton vs. Sheamus one-on-one match on Smackdown this Friday.

-Quotebook – John Laurinaitis: “I am better than Rock and Brock combined.”

-Quotebook – John Laurinaitis: “There's nothing wrong with being a loser. I mean, after all, the world needs 'em. If there were not losers like you, there would not be winners like me.”

-Quotebook – John Cena: “After you fired The Big Show, you became the undisputed king of douchebaggery.”

-Quotebook – John Cena: “John Laurinaitis, go puck yourself.”

-In the final segment, the hard sell for Sunday's PPV seemed to give fans a reason to order the event – to see Cena put an end to Laurinaitis. If Cena reading the stips from the WWE Board wasn't enough – which indicated if Laurintaitis lost, he'd be fired, and no one could interfere on his behalf without being fired – but then Laurinaitis slapped Cena to give extra incentive for fans to see Cena return fire on Sunday. They might have made the best of what at first seemed like a very weak PPV main event. By the way, they didn't leave much doubt over what the main event of the PPV is. I mean, the WWE Title defense by Punk got the type of attention that you'd normally see the tag titles get. It was buried in this week's show.

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