MARKED OUT! …checked out… RAW 03/11/13

MARK OUT: To temporarily forget that wrestling is fake because something cool happened. Urban Dictionary

Paul Bearer Tribute: MARKED OUT!

The Undertaker comes to the ring (mark out moment #1) after the Paul Bearer tribute video WWE posted online last week kicked off Raw. Taker had just bowed to the infamous urn that Bearer always had with him at ringside, when none other than CM Punk cuts the ceremony short. In a move of heel genius, Punk says, “I would like to offer my sincere apologies for your loss … at WrestleMania” (mark out moment #2). I wish there were more heels that knew how to offend people like Punk. The heat this pulled instantly was great. Cheap? Yes. Heel greatness? Of course it is. You can disagree with him using Bearer’s death as a tool to get heat, but that’s exactly what he’s supposed to do. Great segment, which afterwards, Kane attacked Punk for his disrespect towards “daddy.” Great way to honor William Moody and kick off Raw!

BIG SHOW def. SETH ROLLINS via DQ: MARKED OUT!

Again I must ask this question…is The Shield supposed to be a heel faction? They got a great pop during their entrance…and surprisingly, Show had a nice pop as well in his first week as face again. Good “match” that 2 minutes in became an attack via The Shield on Show. This is the second Raw in a row where The Shield powerbomb him and get a good reaction from the crowd. Look for Show to team with Sheamus and Randy Orton against The Shield at ‘Mania for sure.

CM PUNK / VICKIE GUERRERO / BRAD MADDOX segment: MARKED OUT!

Great segment where Vickie makes a no DQ match between Punk and Kane in the main event. Loved Punk’s reactions during this segment, although it seemed like he almost started laughing as he uttered, “He shouldn’t have his little brother fighting his battles for him” (in reference to the kayfabe relationship between Kane and the Undertaker). Now I’m excited about this match!

DOLPH ZIGGLER def. *Tag Team Champion* DANIEL BRYAN: MARKED OUT!

Ziggler and Bryan put on a great match (even with the kind of sloppy finish). Big E Langston saved Ziggler by putting his foot on the rope, which is exactly what a bodyguard-esc manager/buddy should do if he’s at ringside. Ziggler then picked up the W and Langston destroyed Bryan with his finisher in the middle of the ring. Good, entertaining match. NEXT!

SWEET T vs. FANDANGO (didn’t happen…again…): …checked out…

…I have no words for how much I hate Tensai, Brodus Clay, and the Fandango character. They all need to stop. Each gimmick is horrendous in its own way. WWE…please stop…please. #WASTEdango, #WasteT, and #BrodusWASTE need to stop. Next please…

NEW AGE OUTLAWS vs. TEAM RHODES SCHOLARS (no contest): MARKED OUT!

Oh you didn’t know? Team Rhodes Scholars will enlighten you! I thought their version of the New Age Outlaws theme music and in-ring catch phrases were fantastic. These guys NEEDED to go back to a tag team, and I’m SO glad they did. There’s great chemistry between them, and I can see them being THE legit team that helps build the Tag division back up. That said…the Outlaws are timeless. Love seeing them back on Raw, but hated/loved that the match was cut short due to Brock Lesnar’s interference. Brock/Heyman announce Lesnar will face HHH at ‘Mania. But no HHH on the program, so a “contract signing” will likely happen either next week or the next, allowing Heyman to announce the stipulation of their match.

MARK HENRY def. KOFI KINGSTON: MARKED OUT!

Henry and Kingston lasted longer than I thought they would, but the end of the match was just as I predicted: Henry destroying Kingston with a monstrous “World’s Strongest Slam.” It’s what he do after all. Love his beastly heel character.

RYBACK def. HEATH SLATER: …checked out…til Henry hit the ring…

Am I supposed to be excited about this match? Well I wasn’t. The back and forth assault on Drew McIntyre by RyHack and Henry after Henry’s descent on the ring was pretty baller though. I just hate how the WWE is going to ruin this showdown though before WrestleMania. These two are now scheduled to face each other this Friday night on Smackdown…WHY WOULD YOU NOT PUSH BOTH OF THEM AS UNSTOPPABLE UNTIL ‘MANIA…THEN HAVE THEM FACE EACH OTHER IN AN “UNSTOPPABLE FORCE vs IMMOVABLE OBJECT” SHOWDOWN? Ugh. Next.

*World Heavyweight Champion* ALBERTO DEL RIO def. *United States Jobber…I mean…Champion* ANTONIO CESARO: …checked out…

Wow. They just keep burying their mid-card champs. That title is useless. Del Rio looked good in the ring, but it wasn’t enough to keep me really interested. I thought that Rodriguez and Del Rio did a good job with their parody video of Swagger and Coulter thought. That was funny, even though I didn’t want to like it. Moving on…

KANE backstage segment: MARKED OUT!

He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. He just held the urn as respect. Great job here. One fan did scream “SAY SOMETHING” as the segment was closing, which was pretty priceless as well.

THE ROCK / JOHN CENA video promo: …checked out…

Didn’t care. Cena blames his “terrible year” on his loss to The Rock at ‘Mania last year. He even blamed his divorce on this said “loss.” Just…not behind this…at all. I don’t care. Next up…GO!

RANDY ORTON / SHEAMUS def. TEAM RHODES SCHOLARS: MARKED OUT!

Great match, loved seeing TRS out there again. Post match The Shield destroys Orton and Sheamus on the stage, setting up their ‘Mania match for sure. Now enter Show and you’ve got a nice 3-on-3 bout that could see Orton turn heel on the “grandest stage of them all.”

HIGHLIGHT REEL / CHRIS JERICHO def. THE MIZ via DQ: MARKED OUT!

Jericho is back…and still getting amazing pops. His charisma is unmatchable. Love seeing that guy on TV and it NEEDS to happen more after WrestleMania is over and done with. Once Fozzy’s tour ends, hopefully we get Y2J back for more than just a few months. He wrestled the Miz to see who would face Wade Barrett for the IC title next week, but Barrett got involved and now it’s a Triple Threat next week. Kind of excited for that. Jericho’s involvement in this storyline can only help raise the IC title out of it’s atrocious current placement between crap and useless.

JACK SWAGGER def. SIN CARA: MARKED OUT!

Loving some Swagger/Coulter right now. Coulter’s promo was great and Swagger dominated Sin Cara. Another win for Swagger’s ‘Merica. Weed the people indeed.

KANE def. CM PUNK: MARKED OUT!

Solid match between two future Hall of Famers. Great drama with the urn at ringside, and Taker’s bell toll cost Punk the match. Kane and Taker then both bowed to Bearer’s image on the TitonTron, which was a mark out moment for me. THEN, Punk attacks Kane with the urn, only to run away from The Undertaker and kneel on the entrance ramp in mockery like Taker would. Just like he did with the WWE title, Punk left with the Undertaker’s urn. Guess we’ll have to wait until next week to see if he’s done anything with it…perhaps like Kama Mustafa did back in ’94-’95. One can only hope.

RAW 03/11/13 OVERALL: MARKED OUT!

Again, another solid RAW leading up to WrestleMania. Did I need the Fandango/Sweet T/Clay segment? No. Were there some sloppy in-ring moments, sure. Was I annoyed by Michael Cole throughout the entire broadcast, absolutely, but overall, the show was entertaining.  The WWE Champion and his opponent in 4 weeks weren’t even on the show, which says a lot. The video packages and names in that main event slot are what the WWE are hoping sell that match. They took so long to start building the entire ‘Mania card, that they’re trying to work on Punk/Taker big time right now and it’s obvious. Punk and Taker’s back and forth last night was fantastic, and Taker didn’t even say anything. They did an awesome job of remembering Paul Bearer all night as well. I think the next 3 weeks leading up to ‘Mania will be stellar. Here’s hoping that this kind of product is still what we’re seeing come May.

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