KELLER'S LIVE RAW BLOG 7/11: Ongoing thoughts on live Raw, C.M. Punk with live mic, final Money in the Bank hype
Jul 12, 2011 - 2:06:11 AM |
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-I'll wait and see how this all plays out, but the first segment managed to instill doubt that this is actually C.M. Punk's final match in WWE since they're not talking about him still negotiating an extension, and they cast doubt over whether John Cena will really be fired even if Punk walks out as champion. Those seemed like two big selling points for Sunday's show, so it's a "novel" strategy to remove those from the equation.
-That said, Punk and Cena's performances were very strong in terms of delivery. Cena turning the discussion from the pseudo-insider references to his vow to kick Punk's ass was the biggest positive of this. In the end it has to come down to hyping that these two are going to fight.
-Punk had a lot of "crowd-pleasing" references, strengthening his character and his rep for being a loose-cannon on the mic.
-Another chip off of any credibility that the tag team championships have. Having the title holders walk out and lose a two-on-one match (to anyone, even the top star and champion) just destroys the idea that tag team championship means anything.
-The Vickie Guerrero-Dolph Ziggler-Drew McIntyre skit makes me think Vince is trying to show he has a sense of humor about people in his company talking about him behind his back, but also showing there are consequences if the get caught. I'm not sure it made McIntyre look particularly credible when he gulped at the prospect of teaming with Ziggler against Big Show later. Why would that scare him so much? If he's a main event heel who believes in himself, shouldn't he embrace the challenge?
-I like Ziggler making his case that the U.S. Title could be the most important title on Raw if Punk took the WWE Title with him. If he doesn't believe he's the best and his title matters, why should anyone else?
-Jerry Lawler: "I want to know why Vickie Guerrero keeps using a Sharpie for eye-liner."
-That was a hell of a stunt sequence with Big Show, Drew McIntyre, and Mark Henry. Show and Henry did a convincing job acting hurt as the refs were checking on them. The announers didn't seem to care about Drew's condition, though.
-If you weren't sure before if the WWE Facts they show are p.r. spin, they found the "bright side" of Smackdown hitting the lowest ratings ever two Fridays ago with their note this week that it has been SyFy's top rated show the last 40 weeks in a row.
-The Punk-Cena-McMahon segment at the end of the show was memorable and had great moments, but ultimately was too long and meandering. If this was a dry-run off-camera, I'd probably cut 70 percent of it, even some "good lines" that were entertaining. The "Ice Cream" reference took the crowd off-track in a way that hurt the final PPV pitch. Yes, it was hilarious and it may haunt Punk or McMahon for years as fans chant it, but it was akin to fans doing the wave. They don't do the wave during game seven overtime in the Stanley Cup Finals or during the final drive down the field with a minute left in a five point game in the Super Bowl.
-I'd also cut John Cena's awful, awful, awful floor mat bit. That was just so tone-deaf, it was on par really with the "Poopy" bit Cena did back when feuding with JBL. It was third grade "humor" and just wasn't witty or clever, and it just kept going on and getting worse. It was like when you write a dollar amount on a check and the number doesn't look right so you try to make the "5" look more like a "3" and by the time you're done you just have to rip up the check and start over. That's what that part of the promo was. Had he stopped at saying sometimes he sees Vince McMahon and wants to rip his face off, that was enough. It wasn't a time to try to be clever and get in a "laugh line."
-I'd have also cut some of Punk's more ludicrous demands, such as his face on the turnbuckle or a private jet. It took things into "entertainment-ville" when, for this storyline and angle to really click at the highest level, there has to be an aura of authenticity. So Punk should have instead demanded first class airfare and no early morning or red eye flights. He should have asked for his face in the opening of Raw in three places rather than zero. He could have demanded a line of t-shirts equal to Cena's in quantity with the same marketing dollars behind them. Those all sound reasonably legitimate, yet still "asking a lot." Once he got off the tracks and started making it a deal obviously Vince McMahon couldn't and wouldn't sign, it encouraged the crowd to treat what they were seeing as farcical rather than believable.
-In the end, I think it's a wash. I think people entered this show wanting to see MITB more than the usual PPV, and I don't think enough damage was done to offset that. But I also don't think enough good was done to enhance it. I do think Punk showed why he's a big star that McMahon should make sure gets another contract some day, but I think the key words from Punk came late, as he sat on the stage, when he said: "I'm tired." He really is ready for a break. If he got six weeks off twice or three times a year (along with everyone on the roster), he probably wouldn't be walking away right now.
-In the end, they made it clear Punk is probably leaving after MITB after hinting he might re-sign after all earlier in the show. What they didn't make up for is the needless attention drawn to the fact that last time Cena lost and was "fired," he never really left. I don't see the upside in bringing that up, as the key to this PPV selling is the fanbase believing that something is at stake and the stips have integrity to them.
-I would neither bet on it nor rule out the possibility of Punk working through Summerslam. I think most people would predict Cena beats Punk on Sunday, Punk leaves, and Cena moves on to something else for Summerslam. But leave room for Punk winning, everyone wondering what happens next, and Punk being bribed into one more title defense at Summerslam. I say that mainly because it seems like the last three weeks, so much attention has been dedicated to Punk, and it seems they wouldn't have done that just to pop the MITB buyrate. Plus, what could possibly follow this that is "Summerslam-worthy"? We'll see.
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