RAW Thoughts 4/9/12

Segment 1: John Laurinaitis, David Otunga, Brock Lesnar, John Cena

 Was there even a point to Johnny and Otunga being out there? Lesnar could have easily came out himself after the video package (awesome video package, by the way) and be interrupted by Cena. I was surprised that the WWE acknowledged UFC when Michael Cole mentioned that  Lesnar was a former UFC Heavyweight Champion. I was also surprised when Cena provoked the attack by slapping Lesnar. Maybe this could be a slow heel turn? (Hey, I can dream can't I!) When the locker room empties out I noticed that Dolph Ziggler sticks out like a sore thumb in his all pink attire. I still cannot believe that they showed Cena bleeding. That shows how high he is up on the WWE's list. You can only be shown bleeding if your Cena. Maybe the PG era is coming to an end. (Another hopeful thought.) Overall I really liked this segment and it showed a fire in John Cena.

Match 1: Brodus Clay and Santino Marella vs. Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler

I think that Brodus and Santino make a great tag team. The beginning of the match was kind of boring with Santino and Ziggler going for pin attempts. This is the longest match that the Funkasaurus has ever been in and the first time he is knocked off his feet. Also, Lawler took a great shot at Cole saying if he was a dinosaur he would have reptile dysfunction. This goes way back to when Cole said Lawler couldn't make it because he had erectile dysfunction. I still was disappointed that Clay still squashed Ziggler when he was tagged in. Can we at least see him in a competitive match?

Segment 2: The Miz, John Laurinaitis, Teddy Long, John Cena

I am loving Cena's new attitude. I think he is becoming more intense even after his build up with his match with The Rock. He is now this guy who loves to fight and isn't the pacifist that he is sometimes portrayed to be.

Segment 3: Santino Marella, Curt Hawkins, Tyler Reks

Wow! Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks are on  my TV. Sometimes I forget they are even on the roster. As usual, Santino is his hilarious self as he looks for the stooges.

Segment 4: Santino Marella, Kane

Santino is funny again. Obviously Kane doesn't want anything to do with him. I think Santino wet himself a little when he saw Kane. I hope they have big plans in store for Kane after this Randy Orton feud.

Match 2: R-Truth vs. Cody Rhodes, Featuring Big Show

I am really looking forward to Cody Rhodes getting moved to the main event. I have been a fan of his since he was in The Legacy with Ted DiBiase and Randy Orton. I like how they are having Big Show mess with Cody's head after the weeks of torment Cody gave him before Wrestlemania. I do hope that Big Show can get more embarrassing footage so he isn't showing the same stuff every week.

Segment 5: Santino Marella, Three Stooges

I am not looking forward to the new Three Stooges movie. I like their older stuff, but I do not think it fits will in 2012. All the jokes they did here just seemed to be outdated. One part I did really like is when Santino was teaching Moe how to do the cobra and Moe said that this is the Moebra.

Match 3: Lord Tensai vs. Yoshi Tatsu

Do you think Lord Tensai has to shave his back every week? I do like how this match actually has a storyline rather than random jobber A vs. random jobber B. Lord Tensai is a very stiff wrestler. I like how they are doing elongated squash matches rather than the one minute matches we were seeing from Brodus Clay. I also loved the Albert chants during the match.

 Segment 6: CM Punk, Chris Jericho

I love it when these two get on the microphone against each other.  I hope all the younger WWE fans are listening to Punk's message about the dangers of alcohol. I would love to see a CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan feud. It would be straight edge vs. vegan. Great psychology for this whole segment, especially when Punk said that he "smelled just like his father did." I'm interested to see what type of match they will have at Extreme Rules.

Match 4: CM Punk vs. Mark Henry, Featuring Chris Jericho

Another short match, but it told a story. I do not usually like DQ endings, but I feel like it was needed for this to show the mindset of Punk and what he is going through. With all this mentioning of alcohol, this would be a good introduction into a CM Punk and Stone Cold feud.  Interesting how they will censor bitch for Chris Jericho, but not for The Rock.

Match 5: Zack Ryder vs. Alberto Del Rio

The only reason I am happy that Del Rio is back is that Ricardo Rodriguez is back on my TV. I hope that Zack can move back up the card after this stupid storyline with Eve. Another quick match. This seems to be the theme for tonight.

Segment 7: Three Stooges, Kane

These stooges are very annoying. They are suppose to be promoting their new movie, it just makes me not want to see it. They are just not as funny as the originals. The fans had absolutely no reaction to them. I was surprised that they acknowledged Hulk Hogan on WWE TV, but that has got to be the deadest reaction I ever heard when Real American was played. On the plus side, Kane found the Stooges for Santino. And everyone thought he was a mean guy.

Segment 8: Mark Henry Interview

I cannot wait until the match next week. I am a fan of CM Punk and have jumped on the Mark Henry bandwagon ever since he introduced his Hall of Pain last year. I think, given the time, they will be able to put on a good match.

Segment 9: Brock Lesnar Interview

Is it just me, or does Brock Lesnar's voice not make him sound too much like a monster. He talks about leaving the company, but doesn't mention that he couldn't handle the traveling and that is why he left. First we have The Rock calling Cean Kung Pao Chicken and now Lesnar mentions Cena holding his jock strap.

Match 6: David Otunga vs. John Cena, Featuring Brock Lesnar

Maybe that is why Jericho is so angry all the time, Otunga stole all of his body oil. Does anyone remember when these two were the tag team champions? Otunga has turned from my least favorite member of Nexus, to an actually interesting character. I'm confused on whether they are trying to play Brock as a face or a heel.

Overall Thoughts: Today was a pretty good episode of RAW. They moved along the John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar and CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho feuds. The only problem I have is that all the matches were really short. They could have take away all this Three Stooges stuff and add more time to their matches. I am waiting for the time that John Cena gets the advantage of Brock Lesnar.