Raw 1000: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, and The What Were They Thinking

Hello, Gerweck.net readers. I’m stepping away from covering Impact Wrestling and Smackdown for this column. Instead, I’m going to do exactly what the title states. I will give, in my opinion, the good, the bad, and the ugly of Raw 1000, as well as ask “What Were They Thinking?” on a couple of issues. Let’s get going, shall we?

The Good:
1. The new opening video was something that I liked. It seemed like it went on for a while, but I was okay with that. Things change with time and this was one thing that was good.
2. The D-Generation X reunion at the beginning of the show. Sure it was time consuming, but it was awesome, to me, seeing the band back together and not just DX circa 2006 with just Triple H and Shawn Michaels.
3. Jim Ross on commentary for the opening match. People still love J.R. and it’s a shame that he isn’t announcing weekly.
4. Alberto Del Rio, Chris Jericho, and Dolph Ziggler vs. Rey Mysterio, Sheamus, and Sin Cara. This was a fun, little six-man tag match for the opening contest. It made it’s point and the build for a potential Jericho vs. Ziggler match was still there.
5. Charlie Sheen talking during the show during Skype. Sure, he may have been reading from a teleprompter, but it was still catchy and got the job done for the Social Media Ambassador role.
6. (I’m going to get some hate for this one): The burial of Jack Swagger by Brodus Clay. Sorry, I just don’t like Swagger. Never have. Plus, Dude Love and Brodus Clay dancing together? What’s not to like?
7. The Miz defeating Christian for the Intercontinental Championship. I’m not judging this based on the outcome; I thought the match was decent for what is was and took up some time on the show. Maybe we’ll see a rematch at SummerSlam.
8. Paul Heyman and Stephanie McMahon going at it on the mic. Brilliant. Enough said.
9. The Brothers of Destruction taking out the new J.O.B. Squad. It was quick and easy and made a point. Also, we probably won’t see The Undertaker for at least four more months, if I had to guess.
10. The CM Punk heel turn. I was completely against this at first, but as I thought on it today, I realized that Punk’s character can do so much more as a heel. I’m excited for this.
11. CM Punk laying out The Rock towards the end of the show. Punk vs. Rock WILL happen at the Royal Rumble.

The Bad:
1. Raw’s new theme song. I haven’t read if it is a permanent change or if it was just for Raw 1000, but either way, it was a horrible song.
2. The burial (it seems) of Damien Sandow by DX. I said on Twitter that Sandow either got the ultimate rub and is about to be pushed big time, or his career is now in the toilet. I hope it’s not the latter of the two.
3. Mae Young and her hand. Sure, a lot of people get the reference, but a lot of people don’t get the reference. It only took, what, almost a decade and a half for that angle to pay off? Plus, Handie wasn’t even mixed.
4. The backstage segment with Trish Stratus and Triple H. It would have been better if Stephanie had walked in, instead of DX.
5. AJ and Daniel Bryan’s wedding. The culmination of the ceremony was AJ getting announced as the new General Manager of Raw.
6. The Rock announcing he is the number one contender for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble in JANUARY. Come on, now. We still have five pay-per-views left for 2012, presumably with five WWE Championship Matches, and they will all be overshadowed with the “which of these two men, if either one, will go on to face The Rock at the Royal Rumble?” question hanging over them.
7. Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H being announced for SummerSlam. I would have liked to see this match…in 2002/2003. Not now. One guy makes one appearance here and there and the other guy signs a contract with limited dates and can only appear for one week before having to sit out for months. And this is the main event for SummerSlam?
8. Lita vs. Heath Slater. Sure, seeing all the guys that I saw growing up was awesome and I was marking out, but, come on. Heath Slater, while certainly not my favorite guy, better hope he is getting something out of this storyline.
9. The announcement of a potential Charlie Sheen/Daniel Bryan match at SummerSlam.
10. The Big Show’s interference in the main event. It was way too predictable and everyone saw it coming from a mile away.

The Ugly:
1. The incessant Tout videos. Do I really need an explanation here?
2. No Stone Cold Steve Austin or Edge on the show? I guess they didn’t have time with the thirty minute segment (the wedding and aftermath) and the twenty minute segment (the DX reunion) to have two of the greatest of all time appear on the show, right? (Note: I could be completely wrong, if Austin and Edge were in fact not even in St. Louis. I tried to avoid all spoilers leading up to the show.) Additional note: I just read that Austin was unable to attend due to medical reasons.

What Where They Thinking?:
1. Making AJ the General Manager on Raw. Don’t get me wrong, she has perhaps stolen the show on Raw recently with her role, but to have her as the GM, I’m just not seeing it as a long-term thing.
2. Teasing a Charlie Sheen/Daniel Bryan match for SummerSlam. Daniel Bryan should, arguably, be main eventing the show for one of the titles.

Well, there you have it. Raw 1000 had slightly more good than bad and just a few head-scratching decisions. Feel free to disagree or agree with me in the comment section below or on Twitter (@TheMichaelRiba), because, after all, we all have opinions and should all use them.